The Power of Mejinn
by Rishnix
Summary: Kid Buu is dead. There should be peace but Bebidi, Babidi's son, has come to Earth with his own form of magic. His goal is to create a brand new even more powerful version of Buu. The Z-Fighters must all work together to try and stop this new threat.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes**

Characters from the movies will be included in this story. Their history, relations, and power levels may or may not be the same as in the movie though. Please read this story as if none of the movies ever happened.

**Prologue**

The evil Kid Buu had been destroyed thanks to Goku's Spirit Bomb and peace had been restored to the universe. Six months later the Z Fighters had wished away the memories of Majinn Buu. They had all gathered at Goku's house for a sort of get together. Goku had just gone Super Saiyan against Gotenks and broke the hot tub barrel. As Chi-Chi chased Gotenks with a towel Vegeta leaned against a tree and said "Just what are you looking at?" He didn't seem to be talking to anyone in particular though. It was about 10 minutes before this that a new timeline was created.

Trunks from the future had gotten bored and decided to once again travel back to the past. This time it would be just for a friendly visit with friends and family though; or so he had planned. For when Trunks went back in time again, he created another alternate timeline, one that would have the Earth and all the Z Fighters fighting for survival again.

**Chapter 1: Trunks Returns; Bebidi Arrives**

Trunk's time machine appeared in the air outside of the Capsule Corp. house. After talking with Dr. Briefs he headed over to Goku's house. He landed a little from the house and headed towards it on foot. He stopped as he saw his father leaning against a tree.

"Just what are you looking at?"

"It's nice to see you too father."

"Hmph. So what now, more killer androids from the future? Or maybe a brand new powerful alien is coming to destroy us all."

"Sorry, there's nothing like that his time dad. I just came to visit with you all, if that's all right with you."

"Suit yourself. Just don't go acting like a fool." Goku came running over. By now he was out of super saiyan mode and had on some clothes. "Speaking of fools."

"Hey Vegeta! It's time to eat! Come on!" Goku said as he put his arm around Vegeta's neck.

"Will you get off of me!? And you're already letting this peace dull your senses! Haven't you noticed that there's someone else here?" Vegeta said as he shoved Goku off of him.

"Huh? There is?" Goku looked up and finally noticed Trunks. "Oh! Hey look Vegeta; it's Trunks from the future."

"Hiya." Trunks said with a wave.

"What brings you here Trunks? Not more trouble I hope."

"Nope, not this time. Just here for a visit."

"Great! We were just about to eat, why don't you come and join us?"

"Sure, sounds good." Goku and Trunks started walking towards the house together.

"Boy have I got stories to tell you Trunks!"

"I can't wait to hear them." Vegeta followed after them shortly.

Elsewhere on Earth a short blue-green creature stroked its short whiskers while looking around at seemingly nothing. He kicked at a rock in the sand and looked down at the radar in his hand. The lines on it flashed outward towards the edges, revealing nothing new each time.

"Heh, a waste of time; just like I thought. I don't know why I even came here. Father was a fool for reviving it and grandfather was a fool for having ever created it."

The creature's name was Bebidi and he was the son of Babidi. He looked around a little more.

"Yet here I am looking for the one thing I need to obtain the power of Buu for myself. Most likely if I find it I'll end up with the same fate as they did."

"But you don't plan to revive it as the same being they did. You will succeed. I will see to that." A purple and white creature stepped forward so he was beside Bebidi. His name was Cooler and he had what appeared to be the mark of Majinn upon his left arm.

"I'm not doubting your strength Cooler, especially after you submitted to my will and gained the power of Mejinn."

"Yes, giving up my freedom was a small price to pay for such an overwhelming power increase; especially when our goals are one in the same."

"Yes, well it looks like we won't find the missing power source that I require; not here anyway."

"And I was looking forward to finally killing the one that destroyed my father and brother."

"Well forget about it! They killed Majinn Buu after all, what hope would you have against…" Just then a beep came from his radar. "Wait. This is it! This is it!"

"What is it?"

"It's the power I seek! The power I need to gain the pure power of Majinn for myself! Cooler! Let's go!"

"Yes." Bebidi hopped onto Cooler's back and the two of them flew off towards the signal. "I still hate how you can't fly for yourself."

"Well get over it, I bet my dad did this with Dabura so there's no reason for you to complain either. Now let's get going. I'll contact Turles along the way and have him meet us there."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Dinner Talk**

Everyone settled down around the son house and sat down for a nice meal. Bulma and Chi-Chi has made sure to insist that this meal wouldn't become a Saiyan feeding frenzy, so Goku and everyone else would have to eat patiently.

"Well it's nice to of you to come and visit us again dear. Here have some rice." Bulma said as she scooped up some rice and handed it to future Trunks.

"Thanks mom. I just thought that it'd be nice to visit you guys again. You still look the same as ever mom."

"That's very sweet of you dear. Maybe some of that can rub off on this version of you." Kid Trunks momentarily choked on some of his food and everyone else laughed a little.

"That's it!" Kid Trunks yelled out as he slammed his bowl down. "Will somebody please tell me just who this guy is?"

"See what I mean son. I think he picked up these bad traits from his father."

"Don't try blaming this on me." Vegeta said as he picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks.

"Well! I'm still waiting for an answer." Kid Trunks said.

"Trunks…" Bulma started. "…this is you, from the future. How old are you now Trunks?"

"23."

"Have you been keeping up with your training?" Vegeta casually asked, not even bothering to look up from his food.

"Yes father I have."

"Good."

"So, I take it you destroyed the androids in your time." Bulma started again.

"Yes, and Cell as well. The Earth in my time is well on its way to being rebuilt again. Several cities have already started popping up again."

"Glad to hear it. I'm so proud of you dear."

"Thanks mom." Future Trunks started to blush at this. Kid Trunks got out of his seat and went over to Future Trunks and started to look over him up and down. "Umm, hi. What's up?"

"Aww man, do I really grow up into this dork?" Kid Trunks said.

"Dork!?" Future Trunks blurted out. Vegeta stifled a laugh while Future Trunks remained embarrassed. "I'm no dork and I know that I was never this much of a brat."

"Psht, whatever." Kid Trunks walked back over to his seat and sat down.

"Hey Trunks." Goten said abruptly.

"Yes?" Both Kid and Future Trunks blurted out.

"No, the big one."

"What is it?"

"What do I grow up like and why didn't I come back to the past with you for a visit?" Everyone got quiet. Goten looked around at everyone.

"Uh, hey, aren't you going to answer the boy's question?" Hercule Satan said unknowingly.

"Did I say something wrong?" Goten asked.

"Goten..." Future Trunks started off "…Goten was feeling a little sick, but he'll be just fine."

"Don't lie to him." Vegeta said. "Either you tell him the truth or I will."

"Truth?" Goten asked innocently. Future Trunks remained silent.

"Fine, I'll tell him. You don't exist Goten. In his time Kakarot was killed by a heart virus and you were never born. The rest of us were all killed by the androids then. Eventually they even got your brother Gohan."

"Oh." Goten was silent for a moment. "Is that all? I mean when we fought Majinn Buu I lost my mom, didn't have my dad, and thought that my brother was dead. I know what tough times are like you guys."

Everyone but Kid Trunks just stared at Goten. "I guess you do."

"Damn right I do!"

"Goten!" Chi-Chi yelled. "Watch your language young man or you'll get a spanking!"

"I'm sorry mom, but I heard it from Trunks first!"

"Hey! Don't get me involved in this!" Kid Trunks quickly said. Everyone laughed a little and then the meal continued with some more small talk. Eventually though the saiyans were no longer able to restrain themselves and it became a saiyan feeding frenzy like usual. The meal continued into the night and eventually the guests started to leave. Mr. Satan, Buu, and Videl left first and Videl made sure to give Gohan a peck on the cheek which left him blushing.

"Trunks." Bulma started. "You will be staying with us tonight, won't you?"

"If you're willing to put up with me, then sure. I was hoping to stay about a week before heading back. Is that too long?"

"That's just fine dear." They started to walk outside and Vegeta turned back around to face Goku.

"Kakarot, I don't care if you are flat out stronger than me now and I have no hope of ever catching up, I'm still going to try. So don't you dare slack off, I'll be wanting to spar against you in the future soon."

"You got it Vegeta! I'll be looking forward to it and I won't hold back this time. I'm getting excited already." Vegeta and Goku then tapped one of their knuckles together and gave a small smile to each other. Future Trunks stared wide eyed at his father.

"D,d,did dad just admit that Goku is stronger than him?" Bulma gave him a nod.

"A lot has changed since you last visited Trunks. If I remember right I think Gohan is actually stronger than both of them."

"Well he was when I left." Vegeta and Goku stared at each other. Their smiles were gone now. "That's not to say that you two aren't strong you guys! Aha ha ha!"

"Kakarot."

"Yes, I feel it too."

"It's really close by."

"How could we not sense it until now?"

"I don't know, but be ready for anything." A purple figure stepped out from behind a tree, its figure barely visible in the dark.

"So…" it started. "…these are the saiyans that killed my father and brother."

"Who are you?" Goku responded. "And what do you want here."

"I recognize him." Vegeta growled. "His name is Cooler, he's Frieza's brother."

"Frieza's brother!?"

"Yes." Cooler resumed. "Frieza was my brother. I hated him really and I probably would have killed him myself if you hadn't, but he was still my brother. And you killed my father too."

"So have you come seeking revenge?"

"Yes, but first I need to know just which one of you killed him. I really don't know for sure. If you tell me and let me fight him to the death uninterrupted, I promise not to harm anyone else on this planet. But if you don't, then I'll get angry." Cooler made a gust of wind come out from him as if emphasizing his point.

"Okay, you have a deal." Trunks spoke up.

"Don't trust him." Vegeta said. "He's just as bad as Frieza was."

"I'm nothing like him." Cooler responded. "I'll lead the way to where we can fight. Follow me soon, or else I'll get angry." Cooler took off into the sky.

"I'm going after him." Vegeta said. "I didn't get a chance to avenge my race against Frieza but killing him would be just as good."

"Wait." Goku interrupted. "I'm the one that fought Frieza on Namek. I'll deal with him."

"You guys seem to be forgetting something." Future Trunks interrupted. "But I'm the one that killed Frieza and King Cold. It's me that has to face him. You guys can come with me if you want, but I'm going to fight him."

"I'll go too." Gohan chirped in.

"And us too!" chimed in Kid Trunks and Goten.

"No." Vegeta said. "Cooler can't be trusted. You three should stay behind to protect the women. We'll be more than enough, besides; in a worst case scenario you would be able to sense that something is wrong and come to our aid." Gohan was reluctant until Goku spoke up.

"Gohan, Vegeta is right. Stay here and protect your mother and Bulma okay."

"Alright dad." Gohan noticed Goten and Kid Trunks starting to sneak off so he grabbed them by the back of their shirts and stopped them. "Oh no you don't. You two are staying here with me." They both let out an "Aw man." Before they agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Cooler's Revenge**

Goku, Vegeta, and Future Trunks set out after Cooler and found him waiting for them above an abandoned desert canyon. The three of them hovered in front of Cooler. Cooler spoke.

"So, you plan to take me all on at once. How cowardly."

"Why you!" Vegeta started. "I'll rip your head off!"

"Easy Vegeta." Goku said. Vegeta growled, but held his position. "Answer me this, if you get to fight your opponent do you promise to leave the Earth without harming anyone?"

"You have my word. I already told you, I'm not like my brother."

"Okay then." Trunks spoke up. "I'm the one that killed Frieza and your father, which makes me your opponent."

"Good luck Trunks." Goku said as he flew to a safe distance to watch the fight.

"Listen here you!" Vegeta began. "I still don't trust you, so if you try anything at all, I'll kill you." Vegeta flew down to where Goku was and stood beside him.

"I appreciate your cooperation here Trunks." Cooler said nonchalantly.

"Heh, no problem. Just make sure you keep your word when I beat you."

The two fighters took off and to the normal eye they would have vanished. They began by rapidly exchanging punches in the air. Cooler was easily blocking Trunks's attacks. "This can't be it. You could never have defeated Frieza with this power." Cooler landed a right punch to Trunks's gut that made him flinch. "Take me seriously!" Cooler then did a mid-air flip and whipped Trunks in the back with his tail. Trunks went flying down towards the ground but stopped himself in mid-air.

"Fine! You want it! You got it!" Trunks powered up and in an instant he had become a Super Saiyan. Trunks then charged forward and they again exchanged punches and kicks only this time much faster. Despite Trunks's powering up he was still unable to hit Cooler.

"Pathetic!" Cooler then repeated the exact same move he had done before except this time Trunks went slamming into the ground.

From the sidelines Vegeta moaned, "Pathetic. He fell for the exact same move twice in a row."

Trunks let out a loud yell and powered up to an Ultra 2 Super Saiyan. "Burning! Attack!" Trunks moved his hands around rapidly and then let out a large Ki blast. It was heading straight for Cooler, but he didn't try to move. Instead he just stuck out his hands and caught the blast. He struggled against it briefly and then launched it up into the air. While Cooler was doing this, Trunks reverted out of his Ultra 2 form to regain his speed. He then flew up and stopped directly behind Cooler. He grabbed his sword just as Cooler was flinging the blast upward. Trunks swung his sword down right as Cooler was turning around. Just as the blade was about to make contact Cooler vanished and reappeared beside Trunks. He nailed Trunks in the gut with his left elbow, and then while Trunks was hunched over he kicked him in the back and sent him towards the ground again.

"Death Beam Eyes!" Cooler shouted as he unleashed 3 sets of laser blasts from his eyes. Each one hit a different spot on Trunks's back. Trunks slammed into the ground and slowly managed to turn onto his back. As he finished rolling over Cooler came in from above and nailed Trunks in the gut with his knee. "Is that really all you can do?" Trunks didn't get up. "Then this match is over, prepare to die." Cooler put out his hand and started to charge up a blast. As he was charging he felt a hand get placed on his wrist. He looked over and saw that it was Goku. "Don't interfere."

"He's beaten, but I still can't let you kill him. You've gotten your revenge. Now please leave peacefully like you promised." Cooler hesitated and scowled. "Or else you'll make me angry." Cooler powered down and put his arm back down.

"Fine, but only because I didn't like my brother anyway. I can't believe he let himself get killed by you. He deserved to die." Cooler looked over at Goku. "I'll be leaving now."

"Thank you for keeping your word."

"I don't want your thanks." Cooler then powered up and flew off into the distance.

"Are you okay Trunks?"

"I've been better." Trunks slowly stood up. Vegeta came over to him.

"How are you feeling Trunks?" Vegeta calmly asked.

"Okay I guess." Vegeta punched Trunks across the face.

"Well you shouldn't be! That was embarrassing! What the hell happened to you!? Not only were you easily overpowered but you fell for the same move twice in a row! You're lucky Kakarot stepped in because I wouldn't have!"

"I'm sorry father."

"Oh, you're going to be sorry all right, because you're getting back into shape by training with me and you're not going to be going back to your time until you can beat me!"

"What!?"

"Don't you think that's a little extreme Vegeta?"

"And how would you handle this situation Kakarot if it were your son?"

"Well, uh, I, umm, uh, I'm really not sure."

"Then just shut up! I'll be back at your mother's. Be ready for some serious training starting tomorrow!" Vegeta threw a senzu bean at Trunks. He then powered up and took off into the sky. Trunks ate the bean quietly then stood up.

"Man, I really made dad angry, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I'll get better and beat him though."

"That might not be so easy. Vegeta can go Super Saiyan 2 now."

"What!? I'll never stand a chance against him."

"Well I envy you Trunks. All the good hard training you'll be getting to do. You'll get to become lots stronger. Well I better get back home now; make sure you stop by again before you head back to your time." Goku gave Trunks a wave and headed off towards his house.

"He, envies me? How is that possible?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Everlasting Rivalry**

A week passed by and everything remained normal. Cooler seemed to have kept his word and didn't come back or try to harm anyone. Future Trunks had been training with Vegeta and was back to his old self again. Not that it was anywhere near strong enough to defeat Vegeta. Goku had been given the task of watching Goten for the day and naturally Goten wanted to go see Kid Trunks. Bulma was outside relaxing in the sun when she saw Goku and Goten flying towards her. The two of them landed in front of her.

"Hiya Bulma!" Goku said loudly and cheerily.

"Hey Goku, you get stuck babysitting?"

"Yeah, but it's okay, I figured I could do some training with Vegeta while Goten and Trunks played."

"Dad." Goten started. "I really don't need a babysitter. I mean I can go super saiyan even. What could happen to me?"

"Well, I'm not worried, but it makes your mother feel better so why don't we just play along."

"Okay." Goten turned to Bulma. "Mrs. Briefs, do you know where Trunks is?"

"Sure do. They're both training with their father in the enlarged gravity chamber."

"Thank you." Goten ran off inside the giant capsule corp. building.

"Well Goku, I suppose you'll be wanting to go too."

"I don't mean to be rude Bulma, but I'd like to."

"Go ahead. I'd be more worried if you didn't want to."

"Gee, thanks Bulma. You're the best!" Goku then ran off in the same direction his son had just gone.

Inside the Capsule Corp. building Vegeta was training against both Trunks at the same time. The gravity level had been set to a light 100g. Kid Trunks and Future Trunks were both Super Saiyans and punching furiously at their father. Vegeta was blocking them all easily and it seemed like he wasn't even trying. Goku then walked up to the window and gazed inside at the action. Vegeta's eyes momentarily looked over and that was when the two Trunks struck. Kid Trunks managed to land a punch on Vegeta's face and Future Trunks followed with one to his gut. Kid Trunks then kicked Vegeta in the gut while Future Trunks had spun around and kicked Vegeta in the back. The two of them grinned at each other as Vegeta was stunned. Vegeta then smiled and grabbed Kid Trunks' foot with his right hand and Future Trunks' foot with his left hand. He then did a single rapid spin and sent them both flying into a wall. As the two tried to get up Vegeta flew over and punched them both in the gut. He then hopped back as the two of them fell forward.

"That's enough for now." Vegeta said. "We have visitors." Vegeta turned off the gravity controls and opened door. Goten went running inside, almost hitting Vegeta in the process. Vegeta walked out of the room and saw Goku standing there smiling. Goku gave Vegeta a wave. In the past, Vegeta would have scowled, but now he smiled. Well, it was more like a contented smirk really. "Stuck watching the kid Kakarot?"

"Yeah, Chi-Chi had some errands to run today so I'm watching Goten. I hope you don't mind that we dropped by, but I was really curious as to how Future Trunks is coming along."

"Well he's gotten back to where he was after he left us. He had slacked off too much. No true saiyan would ever let his training go like that."

"I agree. Actually Vegeta, there's another reason I came today."

"You want to fight, don't you?"

"How'd you know?"

"Because I want to fight too."

"Alright! This is great! I'm so excited."

"Heh, come on, let's clear them out of the training room so we can get started."

"Hey Vegeta, you realize you're going to lose, right?" Even though Vegeta knew that Goku was stronger than him, that still managed to strike a sore spot whenever Goku said something like that.

"Not this time Kakarot! I've improved and I'm going to win this time!" The two Trunks and Goten cleared out of the room and watched as Vegeta and Goku started their match. "Wait! Before we get started there's something you need to know."

"Huh? What is it?"

"We can't use Ki blasts in here. Bulma got really ticked at me the last time we blew a hole through the roof."

"Well, okay. We should still be able to have a good fight."

The two started off regular and all was even. They would rapidly exchange attacks with neither side gaining the advantage. Then instantaneously they both went Super Saiyan and continued their match in a stalemate. It wasn't long after that that they both went Super Saiyan 2. They remained even for awhile as the other 3 watched them fight. Future Trunks stared in awe at the power that his father and Goku had gotten while he was away. Then it happened. Their stalemate was broken. Vegeta had managed to slip in a punch. He took advantage of it and continuously pummeled Goku until he sent him flying away with a kick. Looking to end the fight Vegeta pursued at full speed. It seemed that Vegeta would win, but that still wasn't possible. Goku used his Instant Transmission to teleport to the other side of the room. Vegeta's fist ended up hitting the ground where Goku had been a split second earlier. Goku went Super Saiyan 3 and started to fly toward Vegeta. Vegeta had just finished turning around and got nailed in the stomach with a punch. Vegeta clenched his stomach and fell over. Vegeta lost his Super Saiyan 2 form and went back to his regular one. The fight was over.

"Are you okay Vegeta?" Goku said as he powered down to regular. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard. You have gotten stronger since the last time though."

"Will you shut up already Kakarot! We both knew I would lose this match and I'll lose the next one too so long as I never reach Super Saiyan 3. But that doesn't mean that I'll stop trying and training for one single second."

"That's what I like about you Vegeta. You never give up and you always give it your all."

"Oh well, at least I forced you transform into a Super Saiyan 3 this time. That was my first time being able to do that. Besides, you're not the strongest now anyway. Gohan is."

"Yeah, that's true, but that doesn't mean that I'll stop training either." Outside the room Future Trunks was still awestruck.

"Goku's hair. It was so long. And did he lose his eyebrows? He had so much power."

"Pfft, that's nothing." Kid Trunks said. "We can get even stronger than that."

"That's right!" Goten chimed in.

"What!?" Future Trunks yelled in disbelief.

"Let's go Goten." Kid Trunks said as he walked into the gravity room.

"Okay!" Goten quickly followed him in. Then they both started talking in unison.

"Hey you two! Why don't you try taking us on!" The two of them then started their fusion dance. "Fu-Sion-Ha!"

"Ha ha ha! Gotenks is here!" He shouted out as he struck a pose. "Okay dads, time for some real training!"

"So, you think you can take on your old man huh." Vegeta said as he powered back up to Super Saiyan 2. "Well then come on. I've still got plenty of fight left in me today."

"Well…" Goku started. "...this shouldn't be too difficult. After all, I still spar one on one with your brother sometimes and you're not as strong as he is." Goku then went Super Saiyan 3.

"What!?" Gotenks yelled out as he transformed into a Super Saiyan. "I'm way stronger than he is! I'm the strongest fighter ever!" Gotenks then transformed into Super Saiyan 3. "Get ready cause here I come!" Gotenks charged forward and the fight began. From outside the room Future Trunks was still in shock as he tried to watch their fight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Champion's News**

Bulma laid out in the sun, simply enjoying its warmth. The times were peaceful and it was quiet. A breeze blew across her and the hairs on her body tingled at the feel of it. She was in her own personal heaven. Perhaps that's why she didn't notice Hercule Satan landing his car near her. He got out of it and was accompanied by the reformed Majinn Buu.

"Hey Bulma! I heard that Goku's here." Hercule said casually with a wave.

"Yeah, he's…" Bulma was interrupted though as an explosion blew a hole in the side of the capsule corp. building. Gotenks came flying out with Goku and Vegeta in hot pursuit of him. Goku and Vegeta both pulled back their arms and readied a double punch. "Stop!" Goku, Vegeta, and Gotenks all froze in place. Bulma was furious. "What's going on!? I said no Ki blasts in the house!" The 3 of them just stared at her. They were floating in mid-air with their fists at the ready to attack. "Well! Don't just stand there, I mean float there! Somebody start talking!"

Goku and Vegeta both said in Unison "He did it!"

"Gotenks! Explain yourself!"

"But my Kamikaze Ghost Attack isn't a Ki blast." Gotenks tried to defend himself in vain. Bulma put her hand to her head. She could feel a migraine coming on and she was getting ready to scream. As she was about to start though Hercule butted in.

"Sorry Bulma. But before you kill them, it's really important that I get to talk to Goku."

"To me?" Goku said surprised. "Well okay, but what for?"

"What do you mean what for? About the other day of course, you know, how you caught up to us after the party."

"After the party? Oh, how did you know about Cooler?"

"Cooler? Just what the heck are you talking about?"

"After the party, an alien named Cooler showed up and wanted to fight with Trunks." Goku pointed over at Future Trunks who had started walking through the hole in wall.

"I haven't heard anything about that."

"I'll explain later." Goku said a little confused. Then his voice became more serious. "Right now, I need you to tell us exactly what happened after you left the party."

"Okay. Here's what happened."

Hercule, Videl, and Majinn Buu left the party a little earlier than everyone else that night. As they were about halfway home they saw someone flying outside of their car. He signaled for them to land.

"Who's that dad?"

"I think it's Goku. He's signaling for us to land."

"I wonder what he wants." Hercule landed the car and the 3 of them got out. A man stood there in front of them. He looked like Goku, except he wore blue saiyan battle armor. "What's up Goku?"

"There's trouble."

"Really? What kind of trouble?"

"Big trouble."

"How big?"

"Enough of this!" Hercule hopped back.

"I'm sorry! I won't interrupt you anymore."  
"It's okay. I can win, but I need something from you first." The Goku look alike was pointing at Majinn Buu.

"Me?" Buu said innocently as he pointed to himself. "But Mr. Satan say that Buu not allowed to fight."

"You don't have to. I just need a piece of you."

"Huh? Buu no understand."

"You know, your skin."

"Like this?" Buu picked off a piece of his pink self and walked over to the man. He then placed it in his hand.

"Yes, but make sure you sever your consciousness from it."

"You confuse Buu."

"Make it so you can't control it anymore; like it's no longer a part of you."

"Ooh! Buu understand! Ha! There, all done!"

"Good! You've been very helpful. Well then, I had best get going then." The man powered up and flew into the air away from them.

"And that's what happened." Said Hercule.

"Well gee." Goku started. "I don't remember that at all."

"Oh come on Goku, don't keep me in the dark like this."

"He's telling the truth." Vegeta butted in. "I was with him after the party that night."

"So was I." Future Trunks chimed in.

"Well just what the heck is going on here then!?" Hercule yelled at them.

"Kakarot! Ask King Kai or Kibitoshen about this."

"Right." Goku started to put his fingers to his forehead to help him concentrate. "I'll try, but telepathic speaking is more like Piccolo or Tien's specialty."

"Enough excuses, just get started."

"Okay." Before Goku could say anything else though he heard a voice shout in his head.

"Goooookkkuuuuuu!" It was King Kai's voice. He had contacted Goku first.

"Yah! I'm here King Kai; I was just about to contact you actually."

"Whatever it is, it will have to wait! I have something very important to tell you!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Evil Energy; Fighters of the Dead**

"Blast! What's taking him so long?" The small lizard like creature yelled at no one in particular.

"Calm down Bebidi." Cooler said "Turles isn't nearly as fast as me."

"Just so long as he got what he was supposed to." Just then someone in saiyan battle armor that looked just like Goku landed from the sky.

"It's about time Turles! Did you get it?"

"Yeah, I got it." Turles threw what looked like a pink gumball at Bebidi. "I only got it by complete dumb luck though. I mean I have a tail and don't wear the same clothes as Goku. I wasn't even able to get my voice all that close to his." Bebidi stared at the pink ball with a smile on his face.

"That doesn't matter the important thing is that you got it."

"So what now?" Both Cooler and Turles said in unison. They both glared over at each other.

"Just how much longer do I have to put up with working with a scummy saiyan?"

"Working with a freak of nature like you isn't my idea of fun either pal."

"That's enough out of you two!" Bebidi yelled at them. You both willingly submitted to my power of Meijin and got a huge power increase because of it, but as soon as you attack each other I'll see that you lose my gift."

They both glared at each other, but neither made a move.

"Good, now for the next part of my plan. Turles, you got a piece of Majinn Buu and I can tell that it's no longer connected to him. With this I could revive a Kid Buu if I so desired, but that wouldn't be near strong enough. While you got that, Cooler distracted the other Z Warriors and that allowed me to steal this." Bebidi tossed a capsule on the ground and out of it popped Trunks's time machine. "This is a time machine."

"No way!" Turles said in disbelief.

"Impossible." Cooler added.

"Believe it, but we are not using it for Time Travel. We'll be using it to travel to Hell."

"How's that?"

"The unique energy that it produces can be combined with my magic to make it so that this machine can cross into the other worlds. Once we are in Hell we can search for the Evil Energy container. Yes, a container that is filled with all the Evil Energy of every soul to have ever been cleansed in Hell. Also, while we're in Hell I want to recruit as many powerful dead warriors as we can."

"Well then…" Turles started. "…let's get going."

"Yes."

Bebidi hopped into the Time Machine and started chanting words. Turles and Cooler both hopped onto the top of the Time Machine. There was a bright flash and the 3 of them were gone. The machine then reappeared in Hell. They landed in the middle of a group of 4 Ogres who were on their break.

"Cooler! Take care of them! Turles! You're with me!" Cooler flew off of the machine and in less than a second had the 4 Ogres on the ground unconscious. Cooler went off and caused havoc amongst the residents of Hell while Bebidi and Turles walked off in a different direction. In a short amount of time Bebidi found what he was looking for. It was a small container, no larger than a can of soda, but in it was crammed all the Evil Energy that had ever been cleansed out of those that had entered Hell. While Bebidi was busy trying to get the canister out, the door of a nearby cell was blown off its hinges. Out of it walked 3 saiyans.

"Brother? Well fancy running into you here Bardock." Turles said. The 3 saiyans were Bardock, Raditz, and Nappa. Bardock was in front with Nappa on his right and Raditz on his left.

"Brother?" Raditz said confused.

"Yes son, I have a twin brother." Bardock said nonchalantly. "This is your uncle Turles."

"What do you want Bardock?" Turles said in discontent.

"To join you guys. We want out of Hell."

"Not a chance."

"Let them." Bebidi said. He now had the canister in his hand. "I'll just give them the test of Mejinn."

"Test of Mejinn?" Bardock said.

"That's right. If you willingly submit to me, you'll get a huge power increase, so long as you follow my will. Otherwise, you're just in our way."

"Is that it? That won't get us out of Hell."

"My Mejinn power have one other unique thing about it. It can revive the dead one time." Raditz and Nappa smiled at each other and Bardock got a smirk.

"Okay we'll do it."

"Yeah!" Nappa and Raditz added. Bebidi stuck out his right hand and shot 3 beams of black light at them. It hit each of them and after a few seconds a black M appeared on each of their left arms. Their halos were gone.

"Congratulations. You passed. Now there one more thing I need to look into before we leave. I need to see if the soul of Kid Buu has been put into a new body yet."

"I can lead the way to where they keep those files." Bardock said. "Just follow me." Bardock powered up and flew into the air past Turles and Bebidi. 'Woah, I've never been anywhere near this fast before.'

Elsewhere in Hell Cooler was busy finding himself recruits and pummeling the ogres. He had managed to find Zarbon, Dodoria, Guldo, Jeice, Burter, Recoome, his brother Frieza, his father King Cold, Android 20, and Cell. Cooler then led them back to the Time Machine where they all waited for Bebidi's return. While they waited though, some of them got impatient.

"Hmph, well if it isn't Cooler, the black sheep of our family." Frieza said snidely. "I don't know what's going on here, but what makes you think I'll ever listen to you?" In an instant Cooler was in front of Frieza. He grabbed Frieza's neck with his right hand and lifted him into the air.

"You should listen to your big brother little Frieza."

"Why you!" Frieza choked out. Frieza's tail smacked Cooler in the face. Cooler's face didn't even move.

"That wasn't nice little brother." Cooler let go of Frieza's neck and then punched him hard in the stomach with his left hand. Frieza fell to the ground gasping for air.

"Now, now son, don't you think you're being too hard on your brother?" King Cold said as he tried to intervene. Cooler glared over at King Cold.

"Shut up dad, or else I'll wipe you out of existence."

At around that time Bebidi came up to them followed by his 4 saiyans.

"So how did it go?"

"I got the Evil Energy, but Kid Buu's soul has already started the reincarnation process. We'll have to wait on Earth until the baby is born before we can unleash the most powerful creature ever."

"I see."

"Are these all new recruits?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's get this over with. Ha!" A giant black beam of light engulfed them all and soon they all had a black M on their left arm and their halos vanished. "You've all just been given a large power up, but now you serve me. It's not being forced onto you though, so feel free to give it up any time you want. I'll give you the full explanation when we're safe, but right now, we need to get going."

Out of the corner of his eyes Bebidi could see a figure flying through the air towards them. It was Olibu.

"Somebody deal with him."

"I'll give it a try." Guldo said as he hopped in front of everyone else. Olibu was drawing closer to Guldo, but Guldo didn't seem to be scared. He stuck his arms out in front of him and closed 2 of his 4 eyes. "Time Freeze Web!" Olibu was frozen in time and hadn't even realized it. All around him though, time continued to move. "Well I'll be! It worked!"

Bebidi had gotten inside the Time Machine and everyone else was touching it now. Guldo started to head back towards it as his fellow Ginyu force members cheered him on.

"Thunder Flash Strike!" A giant beam of fire and lightning fell on Guldo from above and incinerated him. It had come from Pikkon. He flew down to the ground and then looked over at Bebidi. He then started to charge at him, but as Pikkon reached the machine it vanished. "Damn!" Pikkon turned around and saw Guldo on the ground. He had a halo above his head again and Olibu was free from the psychic web that had previously ensnared him.

Guldo looked at Pikkon and then back at Olibu. "Oh crud." He said to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Briefing; The Lists**

The Time Machine appeared back in the forest on Earth shortly after that Bebidi muttered some words and they were all engulfed in a black light and reappeared inside a large metal room.

"Where are we?" Zarbon said aloud while gazing around.

"We are deep underground in my spaceship." Bebidi replied. "Currently we're in the hangar."

"Well then." Cell started off. "You seem to know what's going on here, so start talking, I want some answers!"

"Patience. Now if you'll all please just follow me I'll lead you to the briefing room where I'll explain to you how we can all get our revenge." Bebidi started to walk away and was immediately followed by Cooler and Turles.

"How rude!" Frieza burst out. "How dare he try to give orders to me like that!"

"I'm inclined to agree with you son." King Cold chimed in. "But, I am curious as to what is going on, and your brother is with them, so why don't we just play along for now. We can always dispose of him later if we like."

"Grrr, fine. I must admit, I'm a bit curious myself as to how I'm alive again."

Everyone started to follow Bebidi until he entered a room with a giant screen.

"Ah, I see you have returned, Bebidi, and you as well Master Cooler."

"Yes Salza, we're back." Cooler replied.

"We're there any problems?" Bebidi asked.

"I am pleased to report that there were no problems at all."

"Good." Bebidi turned around to face everyone. "Now if you'll all be seated I'll begin the briefing. My name is Bebidi and I am the only being in the universe to perfect the form of magic that I use. I call it Mejinn."

"Question!" Cell yelled out. "Why…"

"Please hold all questions until the end!"

"Why you little scoundrel! Nobody talks to me like that!" Cell got up and started to make his way over towards Bebidi. Bebidi shot him a glare.

"Lay one finger on me and you'll lose all of that newfound power of yours and your life right afterwards."

"New, power?"

"Sit down and I'll explain."

"Hmph, alright. You have me intrigued after all."

"Like I was saying, my magic is called Mejinn. It is incredibly powerful and can do many things. The first thing you may have noticed is that it can revive the dead. That's why you all are here. I can't do that more than once per person though, so make sure you don't all mess up this time and die again." The group of villains growled at being reminded of their own deaths. "The second thing about the power of Mejinn is that it gives you a vast power increase. For some of you, this power increase may be as much as a Super Saiyan's worth. You there!" Bebidi pointed at Raditz.

"Me?" Raditz replied.

"Yes! You! I want you to power up and tell us how you feel."

"Sure, why not?" Raditz stood up and walked down beside Bebidi. "Here goes." In an instant his power had shot up to levels he had never even dreamed were possible. "This! This feeling! It's incredible! I've never had so much power before in my life! Ha ha ha! I love it, it's overwhelming."

"This is the kind of power that comes from Mejinn, but it isn't free." Bebidi snapped his fingers and the mark on Raditz's arm vanished. Raditz's power almost immediately dropped to what it was before.

"What!? No! My power, what happened to my power?" Raditz turned to Bebidi "Please give it back to me! I'd do anything for that kind of power!"

"Serve me. That is the condition to gaining the power of Mejinn. If you serve me then you can have it, but if I even think that you are about to betray me, then I'll take it away from you and have someone else kill you." Bebidi snapped his fingers and the mark of Mejinn was back on Raditz's left arm. "Do any of you object?" Not a single one of the evil fighters spoke up. "Good! This is very good indeed. Well then on to the briefing. My goal here on Earth is the complete elimination of the Z Fighters!"

"Now that's something I can agree with." Cell said loudly.

"I thought you might all agree with it." Bebidi replied. "But we're going to do things my way. Your reckless attacks in the past didn't work and if you aren't careful, then you will end up dead, again. Here is our list of targets." An image appeared on the screen behind Bebidi. On it were the pictures of all the Z Fighters. "Gohan, Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Trunks, Goten, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Yajirobe, and Hercule Satan. These are all of the Fighters on Earth we need to worry about in order of their strength. If we take out Gohan, then we win.

"Then let's go kill him already!" Frieza yelled out.

"Shut up you!" Going after the strongest one first is a foolish idea. Though the others are weaker, they can contribute in a fight. Numbers are what will decide the victor. The humans should be easy enough to take out, but you should be more careful around Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo. Even the two half-saiyan boys are a threat. If given the chance they can fuse into Gotenks and then they're almost as strong as Gohan."

"Bebidi." Cooler cut in. "You forgot about 18 and more importantly Majinn Buu."

"Ah, yes! Thank you for that reminder Cooler. You'll all find that I'm pretty flexible. I'll pretty much leave it to all of you as to how you want to deal with them, but if I do give you an order, then I expect you to obey it. That's all for now though. I'm tired, the rest of you can find some food and a place to sleep, whatever you want." Bebidi walked out of the room followed closely by Cooler and Turles again.

"Master Bebidi." Turles began. "You didn't tell them about our real plans; how come?"

"Turles, Cooler, you two are the only ones here that I can trust. The rest of them are disposable. My hope is that they'll kill some of the Z fighters and keep the rest of them off of our backs for awhile. Right now all we can do is wait. We have to wait up to maybe 9 months for that baby to be born and then we have to find it. We just need to lay low until then."

"Even so, you still didn't tell them about the other benefits of Mejinn power."

"Meh, they'll figure it out. That or die."

"And that's what happened Goku." King Kai said. "The whole list of people that escaped hell are Cell, Frieza, King Cold, Dr. Gero, Jeice, Burter, Recoome, Zarbon, Dodoria, Nappa, Raditz, and one other who you've never met."

"I see." Answered Goku. "So hell was invaded by a mysterious power, an important object was stolen, and all these deadly fighters were somehow revived."

"Yeah, Pikkon managed to kill Guldo, and we've been questioning him ever since, but he doesn't seem to know anything. What we do know is that he was a lot stronger than he ever was before. Just stay on your toes, okay Goku."

"Sure thing King Kai and thanks for the warning."

"Hmm." Vegeta murmured. "I've got a bad feeling about all this."

"What's there to worry about Vegeta? If they do attack we'll be able to beat them all. Besides that, it could be fun."

"Will you take things seriously for once!"

"I am, but the strongest fighter that was revived was Cell, and we've both surpassed him by a lot."

"Think Kakarot! There's more to this then there appears. "What if he's somehow stronger, then there's the whole deal with Cooler recently. That happened way too soon for it to be a coincidence; and finally there's this look-a-like of you that we don't know anything about. That leaves plenty to worry about."

"Vegeta, does this really have you that worried?"

"I'm not worried!" "

"But you just said…"

"I know what I said! I just think we should be careful. Too many times in the past have we both made mistakes that almost cost us everything in the end. I have no intention of repeating any of those mistakes." Goku looked at Vegeta's face and saw just how serious he was.

"Vegeta." Goku's carefree attitude was gone and he looked serious. "I promise you, that when it does come time to fight, I'll be completely serious. I'll do everything in my power to prevent anyone from getting hurt."

"Good. Now go home Kakarot. I'm done training for the day." Vegeta started to walk back inside the capsule corp. building through the freshly made hole.

"Well, okay. Goten we should get going home then." Goku looked down at the still fused, but no longer transformed, Gotenks who was standing beside him. "Wait, just how am I supposed to take you home?" Gotenks just shrugged his shoulders and made an "I don't know" noise.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Farewell my Twin**

Aboard Bebidi's spaceship were the most powerful villains to have ever lived, died, and live again. Ruthless creatures such as Frieza and his father King Cold. Frieza's brother Cooler was there as well, though his discontent with his father and brother was always obvious. The genius creator Dr. Gero was there as was his finest creation, Cell. Among these powerhouses there were also villains of lesser strength, but by being enhanced with the power of Mejinn, they have become a threat. Villains such as Zarbon, Dodoria, Salza, the remaining Ginyu Force, and a few saiyans. Though all of these beings had been gifted by Bebidi with the power of Mejinn, not all of them were completely loyal to him.

Bardock walked down one of the many corridors on the large spaceship. As he turned a corner he saw Frieza walking towards him. Bardock continued his walk while Frieza stopped and smiled.

"Well, well, well…" Frieza started. "…I thought I recognized you. You're that stupid monkey that actually thought he could stop me from destroying planet Vegeta. So, how'd that work out for you."

"Good enough." Bardock responded. "After all, it was my son that killed you."

"What!? Goku's your son! Well that just makes my blood boil. I plan on getting my revenge on Goku, but for now I'll settle for you!" Frieza lunged at Bardock. Bardock remained unflinching as Frieza's fist came within an inch of his face and then stopped. Frieza started to chuckle as he slowly pulled his fist back. "I can kill you anytime I want, but first, I'll make you see your son die."

"I don't care."

"What? No love for your own child, I always knew that saiyans were cold, but I had no idea they were this cold to their own family." Frieza began to walk past Bardock, but then stopped beside him. "This time when you die, I'll make sure to kill you slowly." Frieza walked away laughing.

'Freak.' Bardock thought to himself. He walked a little further and then knocked on a door. It opened and Bardock stepped inside. Turles was sitting on a stool with his back to him. The room was dark except for a bright light that was shining on a small plant in front of Turles.

"Bardock, brother, how are you doing?" Turles casually asked.

"I'm leaving Turles. I want you to come with me. Raditz and Nappa are coming along as well."

"Come here brother, I want you to see this."

"Hmm? Are you even listening to me?" Bardock walked forward and looked over Turles's shoulder at the plant in front of him. "What?"

"This is a Tree of Might. It bears fruit that gives amazing strength to anyone who eats it."

"It's small for a tree."

"That's all thanks to the power of Mejinn. The Tree of Might used to have to use entire planets for nutrients, but I've been able to cultivate this miniature one. It still bears fruit that gives great power, but it's more like a normal houseplant now. I've eaten the fruit of this mini Tree of Might hundreds of times. It's made me very strong."

"Sorry, but I've never been into growing plants."

"Neither have I, but I'm afraid I've become addicted to the taste of the fruit and the only way I can get it is to serve Bebidi and use his power of Mejinn."

"So you're not coming with us then?"

"No, and Bebidi will have you killed."

"Then kill me already if that's what you want Turles."

"Bardock, we are family, so I would hate to have to kill you, but I won't abandon the awesome power of Mejinn. But because we are family I will do this for you." Turles plucked a piece of fruit off of the plant and handed it to Bardock. "I'll give you this fruit and a 15 minute head start to get away. I suggest you run."

"Thanks, I'll take it." Bardock grabbed the fruit and then ran out the door.

"Farewell my twin, I imagine you won't live through the day now."

Bardock ran through the hangar of the spaceship, the only part where you could exit the ship and reach the Earth's surface. Raditz and Nappa were already waiting for him there.

"Father!" Raditz called out. "Where's Turles?"

"Move it! Now!" Bardock yelled back. "We're leaving now! We have to get to Prince Vegeta immediately!"

"So we're going to see Vegeta." Nappa said aloud to himself. "Good, it's payback time." The 3 of them reached the Earth's surface and flew into the air. "Hey! Bardock! Just how are we going to find Vegeta?"

"Don't worry, I know where he is."

"How's that?"

"I had a vision, and everything has gone the way it's shown me so far." The 3 saiyans flew off in the direction of Dende's Lookout. Only 5 minutes later, Turles had told Bebidi of Bardock's betrayal.

"Curse those saiyans!" Bebidi yelled. "They could ruin everything." When Turles told him the news Bebidi was with Dodoria, Zarbon, and Salza. "You three! Get out there and kill those saiyans right now!" Bebidi snapped his fingers. "They'll be no match for you now." At that moment on the Earth's surface the 3 saiyans speed dropped drastically as the mark of Mejinn vanished from their arms.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Loyalty to the Throne**

"Damn it!" Bardock cursed to himself. "I was hoping we'd have just a little more time with our Mejinn power."

"Father!" Raditz called up to him. "Are we going to make it?"

"I don't know. Just pick up the pace." With that Bardock powered up even more and flew forward even faster. Nappa and Raditz did the same.

Meanwhile, up on Dende's lookout, Piccolo meditated as Mr. Popo watered some flowers. Dende was inside at the moment. Below on Korin's tower, Korin had a visitor.

"So…" Korin started off. "…what brings you here Vegeta?"

"I need another Senzu bean."

"What? Already? I just gave you one not that long ago though."

"I'm not the one that used it."

"But it was still used, wasn't it?"

"Well of course it was! That's why I'm here! Now you can either give me one or I'll just take one." Korin sighed and walked into a room.

"Well, you're in luck Vegeta. I had a really big harvest recently, so I've got plenty. Why do you want one though?"

"I just think that it's a good idea to carry one around now. If we had even one senzu bean when we were fighting Kid Buu then things could have been a lot less painful."

"Hmm, well, I guess you're right about that." Just then three figures went zooming past them up the tower. "Holy cow! Just what was that?"

"I'll find out!" Vegeta ran over to the railing and leapt over it before quickly powering up and taking off into the air. On Dende's lookout Piccolo continued his meditation. He was interrupted as three people landed a short distance in front of him. Piccolo kept his eyes closed and spoke to them.

"I don't recognize the energy of you three, but I can tell that you're no threat to me. So why don't you tell me why you're here?" Piccolo then opened his eyes. "Goku?"

"No, my name is Bardock, but we are looking for him. It is very important that I speak with Kakarot immediately." Piccolo stood up.

"What? Raditz and Nappa too? Just what's going on here? And what do you want with Goku?" Just then Vegeta landed behind the group of saiyans.

"Hey!" Vegeta barked out. "Who are you three?" The three of them turned around to see that it was Vegeta. "What? Kakarot! Nappa and Raditz too?"

"No!" Bardock yelled out, beginning to get frustrated.

"Geez." Raditz moaned. "Are we going to have to hear that every time we meet someone?"

"What the blazes is going on here?" Vegeta said, ignoring Raditz altogether. Then they all heard a new voice speak up. It came from the air above them.

"Well, well Dodoria. Look at this." Zarbon started. "Not only did we find the 3 traitors, but we found prince Vegeta and a Namek as well."

"This should be fun." Dodoria responded.

"I agree." Salza chimed in. "Now the only question is who gets who?"

"Now!" Bardock yelled out. Bardock, Raditz, and Nappa all charged at Dodoria. They caught him off guard, slammed into him, and kept going. "Prince Vegeta! We'll take care of this one!" The 3 saiyans powered up and continued their flying push into Dodoria until he was over the edge.

"What's going on?" Vegeta murmured to himself. Just then Zarbon flew down and kicked Vegeta in the side of the head. Vegeta went hurling off into the distance.

"Vegeta's mine!" Zarbon yelled back to Salza. Zarbon then flew off after Vegeta. Salza slowly flew to the floor of the lookout and landed a bit in front of Piccolo.

"Well then…" Salza began. "… I guess that leaves me, with you."

"Huh, I guess so." Piccolo said as he got into a fighting stance.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: A Mejinn Encounter**

Salza dashed forward towards Piccolo. He threw his right fist forward and it connected with Piccolo's left arm. Piccolo's feet sunk into the ground a little and a minor shockwave came from the point of the impact.

'He's stronger than he looks.' Piccolo thought to himself. Salza then brought about his left leg to kick at Piccolo. Piccolo moved his arm and blocked the kick. Another small shockwave came from the impact. There was a small pause as the two fighters made eye contact. Piccolo had a serious looking scowl on his face while Salza was smiling. Both fighters then started moving quickly and rapidly exchanging blows. Salza was forcing Piccolo back throughout the fight, but was still unable to land a hit against the agile Namekian. Both their arms clashed against each other and they quickly hopped back again. Salza leapt forward again. Piccolo leapt back and at the same time threw his left arm forward. The arm quickly extended towards Salza.

"What the?" Salza let out in surprise. Piccolo's hand quickly grabbed Salza's neck and began to squeeze. Salza grasped at Piccolo's hand, but as he did Piccolo came rushing forward and retracted his arm at the same time. Piccolo leapt forward and delivered a devastating right knee to Salza's chest. He then quickly leapt into the air and hurled Salza into the floor of the lookout. Salza landed hard and cracked the ground. Piccolo immediately stuck out his left arm. Salza's eyes shot open and he flew up at Piccolo. Piccolo fired an energy beam that hit Salza head on. Salza continued flying up the beam's path though. Salza's body began to burn and his scouter exploded until finally, as he got closer to Piccolo he put his right arm to his left side. Salza then quickly formed a blade of energy around his right hand and swiped at Piccolo's arm, just as if he were unsheathing a sword. The blade hit Piccolo's arm midway between his wrist and elbow. A clean cut was made. As the blade went quickly through, the Namekian's arm flew into the air and then landed on the ground. Salza backed off and Piccolo did the same.

"Tch, my arm."

"I'll take… more than that… from you… green one." Salza said while panting.

"Well I guess this is what I get for taking you too lightly."

"I never like to end a fight before I know my opponent's name."

"Heh, suit yourself. The name's Piccolo."

"Well Piccolo, I must say that it has been quite the pleasure fighting you."

"Sorry, but I'm not one for kind words with my enemies."

"Heh, well then you can suit yourself too. Now die!" The energy around his arm got even fiercer as he focused even more of his strength into the blade. Salza charged forward, his right arm was raised in front of him. Piccolo quickly put two of his fingers to his forehead and then pointed them right at Salza.

"Special Beam Cannon!" Piccolo fired off his fierce blast. Salza's charge had put him less than a foot away from the blast. The beam shot out and hit Salza in the chest. Salza's eyes went wide as he felt the beam pierce right through him. His blade dissipated as the momentum of his charge made him land behind Piccolo. Salza started coughing up blood while Piccolo began walking over to him.

"Bravo Mr. Piccolo. You've won; I'm going to die now." Salza spat up some more blood. "How though?"

"How'd I win? Sure, I'll tell you. You used a scouter, so I figured that you couldn't sense energy. As soon as you cut my arm off I started charging up my Special Beam Cannon. It only needs one arm and you never knew what I was planning."

"Nice move. Too bad about your arm though."

"Heh." Piccolo smiled. "Losing an arm doesn't mean a thing to me." Piccolo started to growl and then a new arm popped out to replace his old one. Piccolo started to pant.

"My name…" Salza spat up some more blood. "…is Salza. Dying unknown would be a shame." Salza's eyes went white and he was still. Salza was dead.

'Salza huh. I don't care what your name is. Still though, it was a lot more tiring for me to regenerate my arm than past occasions.'

Vegeta went hurtling through the air as Zarbon quickly took flight after him. They were a good distance from the Lookout now and Zarbon was now directly above Vegeta. While still flying Zarbon kicked Vegeta in the back and sent him into the ground. A large cloud of smoke and dirt came from the impact point. Zarbon flew down to the ground and landed in a forested area. The smoke cleared and Vegeta was standing there amongst it, his look was one of boredom. Vegeta spit off to the side.

"Zarbon. What's wrong, wasn't getting killed by me once enough for you?"

"Vegeta, you absolutely humiliated me in our last fight. It was worse than the actual dying. You dirtied my beautiful face and that is unforgivable."

"You're as melodramatic as always and as vein as ever. I want some information! How are you alive?"

"That's my little secret Vegeta."

"Fine!" Vegeta started to smile. "If you won't talk, then I'll just have to send you back to the afterlife.

"I'm a lot stronger now Vegeta."

"Against my full power, you'll still be nothing. Hmm, actually, this is looking like it will be rather boring."

"Boring?"

"I know. I'll beat you without transforming into a Super Saiyan. I swear this on my pride."

"You intend to humiliate me even further! How dare you Vegeta! Grr!" Zarbon then started to calm down. He smiled and flicked his hair behind his head. "Fine, I'll hold you to that Vegeta. Remember, no transforming, your pride demands it."

"I won't need it."

"I on the other hand…" Zarbon's muscles bulged and he transformed into his hideous monster form. "…will not be holding back at all!" Zarbon rushed forward and delivered a right hook to Vegeta's face. Vegeta was quickly knocked to the ground. Zarbon grabbed the back of Vegeta's head with his massive hand. He started to run across the ground all the while shoving Vegeta's head against the hard Earth. Zarbon then rammed Vegeta through a giant rock and threw him into the air. Zarbon fired an energy blast out of his mouth at Vegeta. As Vegeta was flung through the air the blast hit him head on. Smoke started to come off of his body. Zarbon then leapt high into the air behind Vegeta. He grabbed Vegeta from behind with a bear hug and then started a downward spiral towards the ground. While only a few feet above the ground Zarbon let go and swerved off back into the sky. Vegeta went crashing into the ground. Zarbon then flew up higher into the air and stuck out his arms. "Haa!" Zarbon fired a large energy blast down at Vegeta. Vegeta was still lying motionless in the newly formed crater. The blast hit Vegeta and sent a large cloud of dirt into the air. "Hmm." Zarbon smiled to himself. "Vegeta getting beat up and killed by me. Things are back to the way they are supposed to be." Zarbon reverted back to his normal form.

"Gallick Gun!" A large purple energy beam came blasting out of the smoke towards Zarbon.

"What!? No!" Zarbon had let himself relax too soon though. His guard was down and the blast completely engulfed him. Zarbon could only yell as the blast continued to push him higher into the air. "No! My beauty!" Zarbon's body then started to slowly disintegrate until it quickly vaporized all at once. Down below on the ground the dust had finally settled. Vegeta's hands were still in the position of the Gallick Gun and though he was covered in sweat and panting, his hair was still black. A smile crept across Vegeta's face.

"He's toast." Vegeta looked back towards the lookout. His smile had faded by now and he took off back in the direction of it.

Bardock, Raditz, and Nappa had all rammed Dodoria and were pushing him further and further away from the outlook. The 3 of them then all started to shove him down towards the Earth. They broke away from Dodoria and left him to crash into the planet. But they broke away too soon and Dodoria was able to make a safe landing. Raditz, Nappa, and Bardock all landed in front of Dodoria. Bardock took the center with Raditz on his right and Nappa on his left.

"Ha ha ha! You puny Saiyans are no match for me!" Dodoria yelled. "Especially since I now have the power of Mejinn."

"We'll just see about that." Nappa responded. "Bomber DX!" Nappa pulled his right arm back and threw an energy blast at Dodoria. The blast hit Dodoria head on. Raditz, seeing an opportunity joined in with an attack of his own. He powered up 2 blasts in his hands and then fired them forward.

"Double Sunday!" Raditz yelled. The blast made contact only moments after Nappa's own attack. Raditz stood there panting. "Did we get him?" Just then Dodoria charged forward from the smoke and hit Raditz with a shoulder tackle. Raditz went flying backwards into a tree. Raditz's body made a dent in the tree and wood splintered everywhere on impact. He then fell out of the new imprint in the tree and to the ground.

"I'm not done yet!" Nappa yelled out. He stuck out 2 fingers towards Dodoria and then quickly brought them back up towards himself. An energy attack came towering out of the ground where Dodoria was standing. The attack faded and Dodoria remained standing, seemingly unharmed.

"Die Saiyan!" Dodoria opened up his mouth and fired a blast at Nappa. The blast moved too quickly for Nappa to fully block or avoid it. It hit his whole body and sent him hurtling backwards through several trees. "Just one left, hehehe." Dodoria said while smiling and turning to Bardock. "If I remember right, your name is Bardock. Not killing you caused me to get in a lot of trouble with lord Frieza." Bardock seemed to be ignoring Dodoria. Instead he let out some long overdue anger.

"You killed my squad Dodoria! This bandanna I wear is red only because it was stained with their blood. Now I'm going to stain this grass we're on with your blood."

"Ha! What a laugh! You're no match for me. My scouter even proves it. It says that your power level is only around 10,000. Even without my Mejinn power I would be over twice as strong as you."

"Well, I guess you're right about that, but…"

"But?"

"I've head that healthy eating can make you grow strong." At that moment Bardock took a bite out of a piece of fruit. "This fruit is from the Tree of Might." Bardock's muscles bulged out and Dodoria's scouter began beeping frantically. "I'm going to kill you Dodoria."

"You're bluffing!"

"I've already seen it."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: A Grudge from Death**

Bardock began yelling and powering up. Dodoria watched his scouter as the numbers started to skyrocket. "What?" Dodoria murmured to himself. "It's already over 100,000 and it's still going up." Just then Dodoria's scouter blew up on his face. "Grr, this new power of mine is still better than yours! You hear me Bardock!" Bardock continued yelling as the aura around him flared up even more. "You are nothing!" Dodoria started to power up a blast in his left hand. Bardock's yelling became even louder. "Die saiyan!" Dodoria flung an energy beam towards Bardock. The blast exploded a foot before Bardock.

"Do you see that Dodoria? You can't even pierce my aura of energy, let alone hit me. Just a few more seconds now, and I'll be at my new max. Just wait 'till then." Bardock smiled at Dodoria and then continued to power up.

"Die, die, die!" Dodoria yelled in a mad rage as he fired off blast after blast at Bardock. The blasts hit Bardock, but didn't even faze him.

"Aaaarrrr!"

"No, this can't be."

"Aaarrrgggghhh!"

"It's, it's impossible."

"Yaaaaaaahhh!" Bardock stopped yelling. "This, is it Dodoria, you ready?" Without even waiting for a reply Bardock charged forward and hit Dodoria in the chin with a right uppercut. Dodoria went flying into the air. He regained himself and started looking around frantically.

"Where'd he go?"

"Right here!" Bardock appeared behind him and hit him in the back of the head with an axe hand smash. Dodoria was sent hurtling downwards. Bardock appeared in front of him and kicked him hard in the gut. He then vanished again and appeared behind Dodoria. He quickly grabbed him in a headlock and started choking him. "Maybe I should just snap your neck right now Dodoria." Dodoria could only make some choking sounds as he pulled at Bardock's arms. "No, I'm going to make you suffer!" Bardock then started to knee Dodoria in the back. After just the first hit Dodoria's armor cracked. Another hit shattered a hole into the back of it. Bardock then kneed him in the back one more time and sent him flying.

"Yaah!" Was all Dodoria could yell as he was sent flying through the air again.

"You can count this as my first victory as a good guy!" A blue swirling ball of energy started to form in Bardock's right hand. "Riot Javelin!" Bardock threw the blast forward and it hit Dodoria square in the back. Dodoria remained floating in the air, smoke coming off of his body. "That didn't do him in?" Bardock vanished and appeared in front of Dodoria. He hit Dodoria with a right hook to the face. Bardock then vanished again and reappeared beside Dodoria and hit him again. Bardock kept doing this for a good minute. Dodoria began to swing wildly, never hitting Bardock though. Bardock then appeared behind Dodoria again and this time delivered a fierce right chop to the back of Dodoria's neck. Dodoria went spiraling into the ground. Dodoria landed on his back and stared blankly into the air.

"Filthy… saiyan… I'll kill you."

' Uh-oh, I can feel my power starting to fade. The fruit from the Tree of Might must be wearing off. But already? There's no time to be thinking about that, I have to finish this now!' An orange glow surrounded Bardock's right hand. "No Dodoria! You'll never kill anyone ever again!" Bardock started to charge down towards Dodoria at full speed. "Heat Phalanx!" Dodoria raised his left arm in front of his face. Bardock's hand, his fingers extended like claws, hit his arm. The attack went right through Dodoria's arm and then into his face. Blood splattered all over Bardock's face and Dodoria's arm instantly went limp. "Just as I foresaw." Bardock removed his hand, covered in blood and other parts of the inside of Dodoria's head. "Disgusting." Bardock waved his arm around in the air to get the pieces off of it. He then headed over to where Raditz had landed. "Get up son. Your nap is over."

"Uggh. What happened dad?"

"Dodoria's dead, now let's find Nappa and get back to the lookout."

"Okay." Bardock and Raditz searched around the forest until they found Nappa. "Is he dead?"

"Don't be stupid Raditz, he's just unconscious." Bardock picked up Nappa and flung him onto his back. "Now let's get going." The two of them flew off into the air.

Meanwhile, on the lookout, Vegeta had just made his landing beside Piccolo. Vegeta crossed his arms and glanced over at Piccolo's severed arm still lying on the lookout.

"Lost an arm I see." Vegeta said casually.

"Yeah, no big deal though." Piccolo replied. "I'm more interested in how Nappa and Raditz are back from the dead. I killed Raditz myself."

"And I killed Nappa and Dodoria and Zarbon and then I killed Zarbon again just now. Also, this other guy looks just like Kakarot. "

"So, should we go help them out?"

"No need." Vegeta motioned towards the air where Bardock and Raditz were coming in for a landing. The two of them landed close to Piccolo and Vegeta. Bardock let Nappa fall to the ground.

"All right, start talking, what's going on here?" Bardock ignored Piccolo, looked straight at Vegeta and said.

"Prince Vegeta, I'm glad to see you well."

"Hmm?" Vegeta responded with. "How do you know I'm a prince?"

"Every saiyan in my time knew who the prince of our race was. I am a saiyan as well you know."

"You look just like Kakarot."

"You mean he looks like me. He's my son and I need to speak with him immediately. I won't say anymore until then."

"Piccolo, go fetch Kakarot." Piccolo gave Vegeta an annoyed look.

"Just who do you think I am Vegeta? I'm not your errand boy."

"Do you want to know what's going on or not?"

"Well why don't you go then? You should be faster anyway." Vegeta glared at Bardock.

"Because I still have a few personal questions to ask them." Piccolo gave a sigh.

"Fine, I'll go get Goku." Piccolo then flew off of the lookout and headed towards Goku's house.

"Now then…" Vegeta didn't get to say anymore than that though before he was interrupted.

"Vegeta." The voice came from Nappa. Nappa had woken up and now gotten back to his feet. "Vegeta, I've got a score to settle with you."

"Oh great, not this idiot again."

"Why Vegeta? Why did you kill me?"

"That's easy, back then I was a lot more ruthless and you had gotten on my last nerve. If it weren't for me you would have lost your head to that Destructo Disk attack and even after Kakarot showed up you refused to just wait by the sidelines and watch. Did you really think that he would let you get away with attacking his friends right in front of him?"

"But, but I took care of you when you were growing up. I protected you."

"Hmph! What a load. I was killing Saibamen before I was 5 and it didn't take me long at all to surpass you. And just how did you protect me. You certainly didn't keep me from becoming another slave to Frieza."

"So that's how it is Vegeta, I just never mattered to you."

"Pretty much."

"Well then, allow me to show you my gratitude!" Nappa charged forward and punched Vegeta in the face. Vegeta didn't budge at all. Nappa started rapidly punching and kicking Vegeta. Vegeta closed his eyes and started to clench his teeth. As Nappa went to punch again Vegeta backhanded Nappa across the face. Nappa went skidding across the ground.

"Hey! Cut that out! It's starting to get on my nerves!"

"Oh really? Then how about this?" Nappa fired a Bomber DX at Vegeta. It hit Vegeta and caused smoke to come up around him. When it cleared, Vegeta was still standing there, completely unharmed. "How about this then!" Nappa continued to throw energy blasts at Vegeta. He threw one after the other until he was left panting.

"Will you cut that out? You're getting my clothes dirty." Vegeta said while brushing the dust off of himself.

"Nappa!" Bardock yelled out. "Don't do what you're thinking of. It won't work. It'll just piss off Vegeta and then he'll kill you."

"Shut up! So Vegeta you won't take me seriously. Well how about now?" Nappa flew over the edge of the lookout and started looking around.

"What are you doing now?" Vegeta said, getting rather bored with Nappa's antics.

"There!" Nappa pointed at a small village on the Earth's surface. "I bet if I blow that up you'll take me more seriously." Nappa started to power up a blast in his palm. Vegeta's eyes widened.

"Nappa! I'm warning you, if you fire that shot I will kill you! I put up with your other crap because I get that you're angry, but I won't put up with this!" Nappa smiled. He fired off the blast towards the village. It made its way down towards the Earth at an incredible speed. At least it was an incredible speed by a normal person's standards. By Vegeta's standards, it was painfully slow. Within an instant Vegeta appeared in front of the blast. With a sharp kick upwards, Vegeta sent the blast flying straight up into the air. "You just crossed the line Nappa!" In another instant Vegeta was in front of Nappa with his hand outstretched. "You just blew your second chance." And in yet another instant a giant yellow energy blast completely engulfed Nappa and incinerated him. "Annoying pest." Vegeta flew back down and landed in front of Bardock and Raditz. "Anyone else want to try me!?"

"I knew this would happen." Bardock said casually while shaking his head.

"N-no." Raditz stuttered out. At that moment Goku and Piccolo appeared off to the side of them. Goku had used his Instant Transmission to get them there faster.

"Hmph, it's about time Kakarot." Vegeta muttered.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: A Plea for the Future**

"Alright, I'm here." Goku stated. "So now what?" Piccolo took a quick glance around.

"Where's Nappa?"

"He was bad…" Vegeta started. "…so he's dead now. Just forget about him and let's get on with this." Goku stared right at Bardock. As he glared at him Bardock glared right back. Then, a smile crept up on Bardock's face.

"Kaka…" Bardock was cut short though. Goku quickly put his fingers to his forehead and used his Instant Transmission. "Where'd he go?" A few seconds later he was right back but this time he had someone else with him. It was Hercule and he was quite confused by what just happened, with a glass of milk in one hand and a sandwich on a plate in the other. "Hmm?"

"Hercule." Goku spoke demandingly.

"Waah!" The champ yelled out. "Goku, don't scare me like that. One second I'm getting ready to have a snack and the next I'm up here." Goku didn't bother to apologize though.

"Hercule, I need to know. Is this the guy you saw after the party that night." Hercule looked over at Bardock and stared at him for a little bit.

"Hey! He looks just like Goku!"

"We know that!" Vegeta burst out.

"Oh, sorry. Well yeah, it's got to be him. He's even wearing that funny armor again, though it is a different color this time."

"That wasn't me." Bardock interrupted. "That was my twin brother Turles."

"How do we know for sure?" Piccolo chimed in.

"Was his armor blue, did the shoulder pads stick out, and was he wearing a red bandanna?"

"Um, yes, yes, and no."

"I'm still not completely trusting him." Piccolo said.

"Damn it!" Bardock yelled out. "If you don't listen to me right now then all life in the universe will die!" They all stared at Bardock. "Please, you have to believe me. Don't let what happened to planet Vegeta happen to the Earth." There was some more silence. "I couldn't stop Frieza on my own, nobody believed me that he was coming, but I still fought him anyway, all by myself. I was only able to die in peace because I knew that someday Kakarot, you would kill Frieza. I couldn't stop Frieza and I can't stop this threat on my own either." There was more silence and doubt in the air. "Tch." Bardock looked around at all their faces. 'Darn it! They're not listening to me. What can I do to convince them?' Just then Hercule meekly spoke up.

"Um, if it counts for anything, his voice also sounds a little different from the other guy." Just then Vegeta spoke up.

"When I worked for Frieza, I had heard rumors of a lone saiyan that defied him." There was a little more silence. Then finally Goku spoke up.

"Why do you look like me?" Piccolo answered the question for him.

"He said that he's your father Goku."

"My… father?" Goku took a step back. Bardock spoke up then.

"Yes Kakarot I'm your dad."

"I don't really know how I know all this, but, I feel like you're telling the truth. I believe you."

"Thank goodness."

"How did you know that I would defeat Frieza?"

"I can see the future." Everyone except for Raditz stared at him in shock. "I'm telling the truth. Not long before our home world's demise, I took over a planet for Frieza. After the battle a survivor attacked me and gifted me with the power to see the future. I saw our planet's demise. I figured if I could see the future, then maybe I could change it. I couldn't then, but I believe I can now."

"What did you see?"

"A monster. It is capable of wiping out everything. Remember Babidi?"

"Yeah."

"He had a son as well, his name is Bebidi. He currently has the power to create a brand new Buu if he wanted." A look of shock and terror went across Piccolo, Vegeta, and Goku's faces all at once.

"No way. But wait, if he can do that, then why doesn't he?"

"He doesn't think it's strong enough. Though it was a tough fight, you guys did manage to kill the last Kid Buu. So why bother repeating a failure. He's going for a major upgrade with his own style of magic."

"Magic?" Vegeta said. "You mean he can make people Majinn."

"No. He has his own version. He calls it Mejinn and the mark appears on the person's left arm. It can't force anyone to serve him, but it provides a much bigger power increase than Majinn ever did."

"Unreal." Piccolo said.

"Not only that, but it has some other hidden features that he didn't bother to tell his servants about."

"How do you know about them then?"

"I had a vision of him explaining it. These two things are crucial. The first is that it hides your ki."

"Hides your ki, you mean like an android?"

"I don't know about androids, but unless they get within about 20 feet of you, you won't be able to sense them."

"That explains why I couldn't feel them coming."

"The second thing is that injuries don't heal as well."

"Well how's that a bad thing?" Vegeta asked. "I put a hole in their stomach and their injury won't heal, sounds like a good thing to me."

"Yeah, now reverse that. Injuries inflicted by a Mejinn user don't heal well. Don't count on magic or a senzu bean either. It nullifies their effect almost completely."

"Alright…" Goku started. "…I've got just one more question. Why hasn't he created this new monster yet?"

"He needs the reincarnated soul of Kid Buu. In around 1 year he will find the child and create the monster. You have to stop him before then."

"We'll do it!"

"One more thing."

"What now?" Piccolo moaned.

"You're all being targeted for extermination. They only consider Gohan and Gotenks a real threat. Even so, they still want the rest of you all dead."

"Now I'm ticked!" Vegeta said. "They don't consider me a threat!? They'll soon learn otherwise!"

"Calm down Vegeta." Goku said. "So, how long until they strike?"

"If I'm right. Some of your friends are already dead."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Human Hunt**

In a forest somewhere on the Earth, a samurai found himself confronted by a bear. The bear growled and swung its massive paws in the air. Its claws tore through the trunk of a tree. It charged towards the man with the intent to kill. The man flicked his sword out, dove through the air, and with a single slice, took off the bear's head.

"Heh." The man said aloud to himself. "That's what you get for trying to eat the great Yajirobe. Alright, now it's lunch time!" Yajirobe started to drag the bear through the forest. He got to the edge of a river where he had a tent set up and began to start a fire. "Yeah, that's a good fire. Get yourself all big so you can cook up ol' Yajirobe this big bear here. Heh heh." Just then a giant of a man appeared in front of Yajirobe. "Hmm, who are you?" The man started to dance around and when he finished he said this.

"My name is Recoome, it rhymes with doom, and you'll be feeling it all too soon."

"What a stupid rhyme. You're not getting any of my bear if that's what you're after."

"Ha ha ha! You're on Bebidi's list! That means I get to kill you." Yajirobe unsheathed his sword and charged towards Recoome.

"Just try it you freak!" Before Yajirobe even knew what had happened Recoome had fired a mouth blast that turned Yajirobe to ashes.

"Heh heh ha! Who's the freak now? Oh, wait, you're dead, so I guess you can't say it's me. Aha ha ha!" Just then Recoome's scouter beeped. "Oh goody, there's two more close by. I'll get them too." Recoome took off into the forest on foot.

Not too far from there two other powerful warriors were roasting some fish over a campfire. An albino midget and a tall bald man with three eyes.

"Tien, the tea is finished and the fish should be done soon."

"Good, I've got enough firewood for the next meal too. We'll finish our meal quickly and then get back to our training."

"Okay." Chiaotzu took one of the fish off of the grill and held it in front of himself. "Looks good."

"Yeah." Suddenly, a giant purple energy blast engulfed Chiaotzu and he vanished. Tien dropped his fish and stared blankly at where Chiaotzu had just been. "Ch-Ch-Chiao… tzu."

"Waa ha ha ha!" Recoome laughed as he burst out of the woods. Recoome started another one of his poses and when he finished held it while yelling. "Ginyu force member! Recoome!"

"You! Monster! You killed Chiaotzu!"

"Oh yeah, what're you gon…" Recoome was quickly cut off though.

"Tri-Beam!" Tien quickly fired off a blast that engulfed Recoome. Recoome got pushed back through a tree and fell to the ground. Tien collapsed to his knees, tears filling his eyes. "How could I have let this happen? I should have been able to stop him sooner."

"Sooner? You can't stop me at all." Recoome was back in front of Tien again. He has some black marks on him and his scouter was gone, but he was otherwise fine. "Aww, don't be too upset. You'll be with him again really soon, I promise."

"Ah! You're still alive!" Tien quickly got back to his feet and put his guard up.

"That's right!" Recoome charged forward and kneed Tien in the gut. A quick backhand from Recoome's left hand quickly sent him flying through a tree of his own. Tien stayed on the ground, his eyes fixed on Recoome slowly walking ever closer.

'I can't win. I don't know how, but he's just way too strong for me.' Recoome picked up Tien by the collar of his shirt and held him in the air. He smiled that stupid evil smile of his right at Tien. 'Still though, I have to survive.' Tien's hands quickly appeared in front of his face. "Solar Flare!" With Recoome's face only inches away from Tien's, he received the most powerful solar flare ever created. Tien followed it up with a quick kick to his chin. Recoome's grip loosened and Tien was free. Recoome covered his closed eyes and tried to dig them into the ground, anything to make the intense bright light just a little bit darker.

"My eyes! What have you done to my eyes? It hurts so much!"

'He's stunned, but I still can't beat him like this. I have to get away. Tien took off into the forest; he headed at top speed on foot towards Satan City. 'I'm not far from the city, maybe I can find Gohan there. Just maybe.'

At that same time, 2 other villains were in Satan city. Jeice and Burter had taken to wandering the streets. Aside from getting a couple of stares from people, they were being left alone by the masses of people. They had stopped in front of an electronics store. A TV in the window was showing the latest hit rock music video. Jeice and Burter were both entranced by it.

"Hey." Jeice began. "They're pretty good, huh Burter?"

"Yeah." The giant blue alien responded. "I really like that beat. You know something though."

"What's that mate?"

"We should start our own band."

"No kidding, we'd blow these wankers away and be at the top of the charts in no time."

"I'd want to use that instrument in the back. The guy with the sticks keeps hitting the round boxes and shiny plates."

"You're so lame Burter. They're called drums."

"Drums. Yeah! I'd be a drum player!"

"You'd be a drummer. Not me, I'd have to be on the guitar that or the mike. Heck, I could probably even do both."

"Let's do it then!"

"Yeah, it sure would be nice if we could." The smiles that were across their faces faded as their grim reality sunk in. "Why is it we always end up having to destroy the stuff we actually like."

"Probably because we're strong enough to be useful, but not strong enough to be in charge." The TV channel changed at that moment to a baseball game that was currently in progress.

"Hey Burter, isn't that that Yamcha guy on Bebidi's list."

"Yeah, I think it is. What's he doing playing a game though."

"Who knows. We better go take him out though, or else we might be the ones that end up dead." Jeice and Burter then both flew off into the air towards the stadium.

"Welcome back all you baseball fans out there! I'm your announcer here at Hercule Stadium, Laud M. Outh. We've got quite the game here today. It's been completely one sided. It's only the 4th inning, but the score is already 8 to 0. All the points have been scored by the Home team's star player Yamcha McFox, who had hit a Grand Slam two times earlier today. And will you look at that, the bases are loaded again and it's Yamcha up to bat again. You can see the pitcher sweating from here folks."

Down on the baseball field Yamcha stood at the ready to hit the ball out of the park again. The pitcher wound up and threw a fast ball right down the center. The pitcher was known as the best in the league and was famous for his fastball. This pitch was going over 100 mph. Compared to Yamcha's keen eyes though; it hardly seemed to be moving at all.

'How dull.' Yamcha thought to himself. 'Every time I get up to bat it's just the same old thing; the pitcher throws the ball and I hit a home run, or grand slam. Booorrriiinng.' The ball continued towards the catcher at a record breaking speed. Yamcha lightly swung his bat at the ball. The bat shattered into pieces as the ball went flying completely out of the ballpark and landed in the parking lot. Yamcha dropped his broken bat and started to trot around the bases waving to his fans. "Well, it may be boring, but I do loooove the attention."

"Unbelievable!" The announcer yelled into the microphone. "Yamcha McFox hit a 3rd grand slam! This is simply amazing! Wait a minute folks. I've just received word that the other team is forfeiting. So that brings the game to a very early end with a score of 12 to nothing. Please stay tuned for the post-game show."

Not much later Yamcha had changed into his orange fighting gi and was walking down the street with a gym bag over his shoulder. 'I'll hit the gym for an hour or so and after today's great game I should easily be able to pick up a real babe for tonight.' Yamcha stopped at an intersection, staring at a magazine, while he waited for the light to change. Just then Jeice and Burter landed in the center of the busy intersection. Several cars slammed into their outstretched arms and crushed upon impact. "What the heck?" The drivers of the vehicles leapt out of them and scrambled away just in time as their cars went up in flames. Yamcha dropped his magazine and gym bag and rushed into the street. "Hey! Just who do you think you are?"

"Who are we?" Burter said aloud. "Let's tell him."

"Right!" Jeice and Burter started one of their poses and then ended it with their backs to each other. "Jeice!"

"Burter!" Then in unison they said.

"Together we are, the Ginyu Force!"

"The Ginyu Force?" Yamcha said confused. "But I thought you guys were dead. Let me guess, you're here for revenge because you got beat up on King Kai's planet."

"Ancient history mate." Jeice responded. "We couldn't care less about that. We're just following some orders, it's nothing personal, but if we don't kill you, we'll be in a lot of trouble." Yamcha got into his fighting stance and readied himself for battle.

"Fine! Then I won't hold back either!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Underestimated Again**

As Yamcha prepared for a battle against Jeice and Burter, they were all surprised to see Tien's body come flying through a building. He skidded to a stop face up in front of Yamcha. Yamcha looked down at Tien who was still lying on his back.

"Tien?" Tien opened up his 2 regular eyes.

"Oh, hey Yamcha. You see Gohan lately?"

"Um, no." Tien got back up to his feet.

"Then we might be in trouble."

"What? Why?" Recoome then popped his head around the corner of a building.

"Yoo-hoo!" Recoome yelled. "Where'd you go baldy? I'm not done playing with you yet." Recoome's eyes had a dark look around them.

"What happened to his eyes?" Yamcha asked.

"I did my most powerful Solar Flare ever, with his eyes less than a foot away."

"Nice!"

"Yeah, everything else though, not so nice."

"Hey Recoome." Jeice yelled. "How ya doin pal?"

"Eh?" Recoome grunted. "Jeice, Burter, you two stay out of this! I'm going to kill him." Recoome then noticed Yamcha. "This guy too. These two are way too weak to deal with me."

"What!?" Burter yelled out. "But why?"

"Why?" Recoome pondered out loud. "Because I'm angry! That's why!"

"Pfft. Fine." Burter said.

"Go ahead then ya jerk!" Jeice yelled to him. "Stupid Recoome is gonna steal all the fun."

Tien quickly whispered something to Yamcha and Yamcha simply gave a nod. "Hey!" Recoome yelled. "Quit whispering over there!" Recoome charged forward and punched the ground in front of Tien and Yamcha with an energy blast. The 2 Z-Fighters hopped back and avoided the attack. They then both quickly charged at Recoome and started attacking him rapidly. As the 3 fighters raced around the city streets it was Yamcha and Tien that were chasing Recoome. It would seem like they had the advantage, but Recoome was smiling the whole time. "Ha!" Recoome backhanded Yamcha in one direction and kicked Tien in the opposite direction at the same time. "Ha ha ha! You guys are so weak. You're just no match for me. So, who should I finish off first? I know I'll get rid of baldy first." Tien struggled to his feet and stared at Recoome.

"Hold it!" Yamcha yelled out. "You deal with me next! Come on, I'll take you on right now. Unless you're too scared to take me on."

"Too scared?" Recoome turned to face Yamcha. "Fine, if you're in such a hurry to die then I suppose the least I can do is kill you first." Yamcha slid back on his right foot. He put his left hand out a little low in front of him and his right hand was held near his face. His hands weren't fists though, his fingers were like claws.

"Wolf Fang Fist!" Yamcha started to run towards Recoome. He looked ready for him. Yamcha howled and all of a sudden Recoome thought he saw a giant wolf in front of him.

"What the?" Recoome was open and Yamcha wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation. He rained down blow after blow on Recoome using his Wolf Fang Fist. While he was doing this, Tien flew to the top of a low roof and stood on the edge of it. He put his hands together and formed a triangle shape with his hands. He focused Recoome in the center of them and his image seemed to get zoomed in on. Recoome finally managed to recover from the surprise and grabbed Yamcha's head. "Got you now." Recoome started to laugh.

"Damn it!" Tien cursed from the rooftops. I can't shoot until Yamcha gets clear. Yamcha kicked hard at Recoome's gut. Recoome just stood there and laughed at Yamcha's attempt to break free.

"I think I'll crush your head now." Recoome started to squeeze Yamcha's head.

"Yaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

"Ha ha ha, owwwwww!" Yamcha bit the palm of Recoome's hand. He sunk his teeth in deep and managed to draw blood. A furious Recoome threw Yamcha away from him. "You'll pay for that!"

"You know something." Yamcha replied. "You talk too much during a fight."

"Tri-Beam!" Tien fired a single blast at Recoome that engulfed him and shoved him to the ground.

"Grr, now I'm ticked!" Recoome once again yelled. Recoome flew through the air, heading straight for Tien.

"Ha!" Another blast from Tien was fired and Recoome was pushed further back, but still remained in the air.

"Spirit Ball!" Yamcha had quickly formed a Spirit Ball and threw it underground. Using his hands and fingers he maneuvered it underground until it was beneath Recoome. He then had it pop up behind Recoome.

"Ha!" Another Tri-Beam pushed Recoome back, causing him to hit the Spirit Ball. The Spirit Ball was at Recoome's lower back. "Ha!" Another Tri-Beam fired and hit Recoome. This time however, Recoome was not pushed back. With the Spirit Ball at Recoome's back, he was forced to take the full might of Tien's attack. Not only that, but because the Spirit Ball was behind Recoome it wasn't getting weakened from Tien's attack. "Ha! Ha! Ha!" Tien fired off more Tri-Beams, each one causing the same effect on Recoome.

"Tien! Now!" Tien's hands started to glow really bright as he now power up a particularly strong Tri-Beam.

"Neo Tri-Beam!" Tien fired off a huge Tri-Beam blast. Moments before that Yamcha maneuvered his Spirit Ball back from Recoome. He then sent it heading directly for Recoome's lower back again. The Tri-Beam and the Spirit Ball hit Recoome at the same time. With the Tri-Beam pushing him down and the Spirit Ball pushing him up, something had to give; and something did. The Spirit Ball burst through Recoome's stomach and the Tri-Beam slammed Recoome hard into the ground. Yamcha quickly dashed across the street and hopped high into the air.

"We're not finished yet!" Yamcha yelled out. With his hands clasped behind him and to the side, a bright blue ball of energy formed. "Kamehameha!" Yamcha fired the blast down at Recoome. It scored a direct hit. Below on the ground, Recoome's body was literally smoking. He was now dead. Yamcha landed beside Recoome's body and Tien hopped down to join him. The 2 Z-Fighters looked at each other and smiled.

"Good job Yamcha." Tien said wearily.

"Thanks. You too." Their victory celebration would have to wait though. At that moment Jeice and Burter came walking over. Jeice was doing a slow clap as he walked over.

"Well doesn't that just figure?" Jeice said with an annoyed look on his face. Burter opted to remain silent. "I hope you two enjoyed that, cause it ain't gonna be happening to us!"

"Yamcha." Tien said. "I'm exhausted, do you have any strength left?"

"No." Yamcha replied. "I'm completely worn out." Just then a figure landed about 20 feet behind Jeice and Burter. The person spoke.

"Stop right there evildoers!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Posers**

Jeice clenched his fist and quickly turned around. "Just who the bloody hell are you?" he yelled rather annoyed. Before them stood Gohan, disguised as the Great Saiyaman.

"It's Gohan!" Yamcha said excitedly.

"I am the light which makes the shadow of crime disappear." He started running in place with his arms out to the side. "I am the desire that every good person has for safety." Then he started waving around his hands in front of his face. "I am the postage stamp which sends criminals to jail!" Then he spread his legs apart. He slowly brought his arms around in an arch. His hands ended up sideways in front of his nose with the fingers pointing down. "I am the Great Saiyaman!"

"It's Gohan." Yamcha said embarrassed.

"Woo hoo! Yeah! Nice moves mate!" Jeice yelled.

"That was sweet and stylin!" Burter yelled. The Great Saiyaman got out of his pose and stood with his hands on his waist and his arms out to the side.

"Why thank you." He responded. "I'm not used to the bad guys giving praise for my introduction. Still though, I'm going to have to ask you to kindly cease and desist this destructive behavior."

"Hold on!" Burter yelled. "We didn't get to introduce ourselves yet." Burter and Jeice started running in place as well. Burter then grabbed Jeice's hands and tossed him under his legs and into the air. He quickly got down like a linebacker before a snap, except his arms were off to the side. He brought his head up and looked right at Gohan. "Burter!"

Jeice landed on Burter's back with his own back towards Gohan. He quickly spun around and got down on one knee. With a dramatic punch towards the sky he yelled out. "Jeice!" Then in unison they said. "Together we are! The Ginyu Force!" A gust of wind blew bye and Jeice hopped off of Burter's back. Jeice and Burter then started shaking hands and complimenting each other. Gohan started to clap.

"Hey that was pretty good you guys!" Gohan responded. Gohan started to walk a little closer. "Listen here guys. I've been watching the whole time, so I know that you 2 haven't done anything wrong yet. So now is your chance to just leave."

"Sorry mate. We just can't do that."

"Yeah…" Burter began. "…we don't have a choice in the matter."

"Is that so?" Gohan asked curiously. "I'll tell you what then. Let's give this a try instead." Jeice and Burter gave each other a quick glance then looked back at Gohan.

"We're listening."

"You guys launch your most powerful attack at me at the same time. After that, if you both agree to never harm anyone again, you can go."

"What? That doesn't make sense."

"You're awfully confident there mate." Jeice said as a drop of sweat rolled down his forehead. "So you're serious, we get in a free attack?"

"Sure, but just the one. Then if you still want to fight I'll have to get serious."

"Fine. Let's do it Burter." Jeice and Burter flew up into the air. They started flying around in a quick circle until all that could be seen was a swirling purple mass of energy. From the mini-whirlwind in the air they both yelled "Purple Comet Attack!" A purple ball of energy went flying down to the ground right towards Gohan.

"Gohan!" Tien yelled. "Get out of there!"

"Aww man." Gohan said while smiling. "This is going to be easy." Gohan stuck his right arm towards the blast. The blast reached Gohan's hand. With a smile still on his face, Gohan flicked the blast straight up into the air with just one finger. It went flying off into space at a much faster speed than what Jeice and Burter had launched it at. Up in the air the 2 Ginyu Force members were stunned and shaking. They were both still staring at Gohan on the ground.

"Let's get out of here." Burter quickly said. Jeice gave a nod. The two of them turned around only to find that Gohan was now in front of them. "Ah! How did you do that?"

"Hold on guys." Gohan said. "I can't let you leave yet. You haven't promised me that you won't cause anyone any more harm."

"Well what are we supposed to do then?" Jeice said angrily. "If we go back without a victory then we're as good as dead."

"Then don't go back to wherever it is you're talking about. You can do whatever you want, just so long as you don't hurt anyone." Burter and Jeice were both still tense. They all floated in the air for awhile in silence.

"We want to start a rock band!"

"Yeah!" Burter chimed in.

"Okay, then do it!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, just no hurting anyone if they don't like you." Jeice and Burter both smiled.

"Okay, you got a deal."

"Great!" The marks of Mejinn that were on their left arms both faded away.

"You know…" Jeice started. "…this planet Earth is pretty cool. It reminds me of a planet we had to conquer once long ago in the past. It had cool music there too. It even had these shows called Soap Operas that Recoome just loved to watch. That was a nice place, but we had to destroy it because that's what Frieza ordered."

"You can follow your own orders now."

"Thanks mate. We will. Be seein ya!" With that Jeice and Burter took off into the distance. Gohan made his way down beside Tien and Yamcha.

"I don't get it." Yamcha stated. "Why'd you let them go?"

"Well, why not? Everyone deserves a second chance. My dad told me that you two didn't start off as good guys right away either."

"Yeah. That's true." Tien said. Just then Goku appeared beside all of them with his fingers on his forehead. "Goku, what are you doing here?"

"I'll explain soon enough." Goku said. "But I need you to all come with me right now." They all touched Goku and with an Instant Transmission they were all back up on the lookout. Goku had already retrieved everyone else he would need to and the whole group of Z Fighters and their families were now on the lookout.

Up on the lookout the entire situation was explained to everyone.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Special Training**

The Z Fighters, now accompanied by Bardock and Raditz, were all standing around on the lookout. Everyone was now up to speed on the situation and they were trying to plan out their next move.

"You let them get away!" Vegeta yelled.

"Well, yeah." Gohan answered. "Jeice and Burter surrendered, killing them would have been pointless."

"Maybe so, but letting them get away was a bad idea. We could have interrogated them for information and if they refused to talk we could have tortured it out of them."

"No way Vegeta! I don't care what the stakes are; I'm not reducing myself to that."

"They could have led us right to Bebidi's ship!"

"Well, why don't we just have Bardock lead us?" Vegeta stared into the air for a few seconds before he started to growl.

"How come nobody thought of this sooner?"

"Well, we have the idea now, so let's..."

"It's a waste of time." Bardock interrupted.

"…go."

"Bebidi has likely already moved his ship. It'd just be a waste of time."

"Did you have a vision of this?"

"No, but…"

"Then we're going." Gohan said demandingly.

"Alright!" Goku said excitedly. "Let's all get going."

"Hold on Kakarot!" Vegeta yelled. "I'm not so sure we should all go."

"Well then who gets to?"

"I'll go." Gohan said demandingly again.

"Okay, I'll go with you too."

"What!?" Goten screeched. "No fair dad! You got to go to the last fight. Me and Trunks should get to go this time.

"Yeah, that's right!" Kid Trunks chimed in. "Why should you grownups get to have all the fun?"

"But…" Goku was cut off by Goten.

"Besides dad, I thought you wanted the Earth to be protected by the next generation of fighters."

"Yeah." Kid Trunks added in. "That's us, not you old guys."

"Then it's settled." Gohan said. "It'll be Goten, little Trunks, Bardock, and myself. Well, let's get going you guys." Gohan, Goten, and Kid Trunks started to walk away.

"But…" Goku said aloud to no one in particular. "… I wanted to get a chance to fight." Krillin walked over to Goku.

"It's okay Goku, I'm sure you'll get to fight next time." Bardock walked over to his 2 grandsons and Kid Trunks.

"Fine." He stated. "I'll lead you there, but it's going to be a waste of time." Raditz came running over to Bardock.

"Father! Wait!"

"Hmm, what is it Raditz?"

"I've been meaning to ask you father. Why am I here? I hate to say it, but I'm way too weak to be of any use in a fight and I can't predict the future like you or anything else that would be useful. So why'd you bring me along?"

"Because, you're my son. I don't want you to end up back in hell. So this is your chance to live a good life."

"But I'm a saiyan! I can't just sit out of the fights."

"Raditz, if you want to help out then you have to become stronger." Bardock took off his scouter and then took Raditz's off. He crushed them both in his hands. "And we'll start by learning how to sense energy without using a scouter."

"But how?"

"There should be someone named Mr. Popo up here. Ask him, he'll teach you. I'm going to get going now so this wild goose chase can get over with."

Bardock then flew off into the air followed closely by Gohan, Goten, and Kid Trunks. Raditz walked back over to the group. They were having a heated discussion about the humans. As he walked over Krillin was talking.

"Look, I get that you saiyans are way stronger than the rest of us, but we are being targeted. You can't protect us all the time, so we have to get a lot stronger real fast. I have a family now Goku. I don't want to lose them."

"I understand Krillin." Goku said. "But I really don't know of any way for you guys to get that much stronger that quickly. The best thing we would have would be the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but even that probably wouldn't be enough."

"Besides that, I couldn't even get 2 years out of it; I did use it back before the Cell Games." Tien said.

"Actually…" Mr. Popo said. "…everyone's time should be reset back to zero."

"What, but how?"

"Well, when the Earth was reformed, so was the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but it's not the same one from before. It's an identical copy; it's just that this one is unused. So, it should be okay for all of you to use it."

"Really, that's great!" Krillin yelled out.

"It still won't be even close to enough." Vegeta said while crushing Krillin's hopes at the same time. "They're tougher than you realize."

"Why you!"

"He's right Krillin." Piccolo said. "Two years of training still wouldn't be enough, I'm not even sure it would do me much good."

"Well then we're right back where we started."

"Hold on!" Raditz interrupted. "You're Mr. Popo?" Raditz said as he pointed at him.

"Yes, that's right." He replied.

"My father said that you can train me to sense energy. Is that true?"

"Well, yes, I can, but…"

"Then train me!"

"Oh my! Certainly not with manners like that. If you can't even say please then you can just forget about it."

"What!? I'm a saiyan and a saiyan does not say please!"

"Well then you can just forget about it." Raditz growled while clenching his teeth and both of his fists."

"P, p, p…" he stuttered out. "…pleeeee, pleeeeeaaaa." Raditz then decided to just yell it out. "Please train me!" Raditz just stared at the ground, ashamed that he actually had to say that word.

"Okay."

"What? Really?"

"Of course, I'd be delighted to. But I should warn you, my training won't be easy. Please follow me."

"Alright!" Raditz yelled happily. Mr. Popo walked off into the lookout followed closely by Raditz.

"Wow." Goku said. "Is it really that hard to say please?" There was a little silence. "Well Vegeta, is it?" Vegeta got a stunned then angry look on his face.

"Why are you asking me!?" Everyone laughed a little bit, but it was only a distraction from the real problem they faced. They all stood there trying to think of ways to strengthen the humans. Finally, Goku got an idea.

"Hey! I know! What if we get you guys a mystic power-up from the old kai? You know, like Gohan got?"

"Hmm." Tien murmured. "Could that really be done?"

"You mean we'd all be as strong as Gohan!?" Yamcha yelled excitedly.

"Well…" Goku began. "… I don't know about that, but it would definitely make you stronger. The technique he uses is supposed to raise you to your absolute limit. It only took 1 day for it to work on Gohan."

"Our absolute limit huh?" Krillin pondered aloud. "Well, I suppose that is the best we could do. Well, I'm game for it."

"I'm always up for receiving some new form of training." Tien said. "You can count me in too!"

"I really wanted to be as strong as Gohan." Yamcha complained. "But this should still be pretty good. I'm game too."

"Great! Then it's settled!" Goku said. "We just need to get in contact with him now. I'm not sure how to contact him directly, but maybe King Kai can help. King Kai! Can you hear me?" Goku just yelled up into the sky.

"Yes Goku, I can hear you. I've been paying close attention to the Earth with these recent developments, so you'll be able to contact me easily at any time."

"Okay, can you get in touch with the Old Kai or Kibitoshen for us?"

"Sure, just give me a little while." King Kai's antennas started wiggling around. "In the meantime, how would you like to hear my latest joke?"

"Umm, that's okay King Kai, really."

"Alright here it is. How many Super Saiyans does it take to screw in a light bulb? Give up. Just one, but he'll spend 5 minutes yelling and powering up before he does it." King Kai started to do his laughing snort at his own joke. "What's wrong Goku, didn't you like it?"

"Oh, no. It was, really, funny."

"I knew you'd like it Goku. Here's another one..."

"Really, King Kai, you don't need to."

"… why did the." King Kai got silent. "It'll have to wait I suppose, I got in contact with them Goku. Just talk and they'll hear you."

"Um, hi guys."

"What do you want?" Old Kai yelled. "I was taking a nice nap."

"Sorry I woke you up, but we need a favor from you old Kai."

"Always with the favors. The last favor I did for you killed me, you know that?"

"Yes, I remember and I still really appreciate it, but this is important. Could you give your mystic power-up to Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien?"

"Well…" Old Kai paused as he pondered the idea of it. "… I could, but I want something out of it."

"No problem! Just you name it."

"I want some pictures of some hot young girls!"

"Gaah!" Goku fell over onto his back.

"Well Goku." Krillin began. "What did he say?"

"He'll do it, but there's a condition."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Bebidi's Old Hideout**

While Goku and the others had been figuring out ways to get stronger fast, Bardock and his group had made their way to where Bebidi's spaceship was. They had reached the area and hovered above it. From there they could see a small hole in the ground that would lead into the rest of the ship.

"Is this it Bardock?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, this is the place. Now let's get this over with." Bardock and the others started to descend, but then for seemingly no reason, Bardock stopped. Trunks noticed first and turned around.

"Hey, why'd you stop? We need to get going." Bardock was shaking and sweat was beginning to form on his forehead. His eyes looked like they didn't even see the world around him. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped, and Bardock began panting while looking around. Gohan and Goten had also come back by now.

"Hey…" Goten began. "…are you alright? You don't look so good."

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked.

"I…" Bardock stuttered. "I had a vision, a bad one. I'm not going down there."

"Why not?"

"Because I'll die. You two…" Bardock was looking at Trunks and Goten. "…you shouldn't go either. Not unless you fuse first."

"So something is down there. Okay, Goten, Trunks, fuse into Gotenks now." The kids both gave a head nod and after a quick fusion dance, Gotenks was formed.

"The great Gotenks has arrived!" He announced of himself. "Now, I'd hate for my immense talent to go to waste, so I'm going on ahead." Gotenks flew down into the hole.

"Gotenks! Wait up!" Gohan yelled as he took off after him. The 2 strongest fighters of the Earth went inside the hole. It was dark inside and difficult for them to see, but they were in nothing but a giant hollowed out area underground. While Bebidi's spaceship had been there, it was now gone. Gotenks and Gohan fumbled around in the dark as they made their way further down. Off to the one side of them they could hear some water steadily dripping. Gohan started looking around himself more as they kept going. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Hello! Is anybody home?"

"Gotenks! You shouldn't have done that; if there was someone here we may have been able to surprise them."

"Ki-ki-ki-he-he!"

"What was that?" Gohan quickly hopped to Gotenks's back. "Stay at my back Gotenks, they can't catch us off guard that way."

"We're over here! Ki-ki-ki!" The voice echoed throughout the dark cavern and was impossible to tell where it came from.

'This isn't good. It's faint, but I can feel at least half a dozen different energy signals nearby. I just can't tell where they are in here. They must be Mejinn fighters.'

"I'm not afraid of you!" Gotenks yelled as he flew away from Gohan. "Come on out you cowards!"

"Gotenks! Wait! Stop!"

"Ki-ki-ki, Solar Flare!" A blinding white light suddenly lit up the cavern. Before the temporary blindness set in, Gohan was able to make out the shape of some Cell Jr. Suddenly Gotenks found himself blind and being rapidly attacked from every direction. He was unable to sense them coming and was being pounded repeatedly.

"Gotenks! Hold on, I'm coming!"

"Oh, no you're not. You're coming with me." Gohan didn't need to be able to see to know whose voice that was.

"Ah! Cell!" Gohan felt a hand on his shoulder and then the 2 fighters vanished. Gohan and Cell then appeared floating above a desert far away. Gohan quickly knocked Cell's hand off of his shoulder and hopped away, though he was still blind.

"Relax, Gohan, I'll let the effects of the Solar Flare wear off."

"And why would you do that?"

"I guess you can fault the cells of Goku I have in me. I want this to be a fair fight. So that when I beat you, you won't have any excuses."

"Ha, that's pretty nice of you Cell, but the same will go for you then."

"I am aware of that, and I've always been a nice guy. Just a bit misunderstood."

"Yeah right." The Solar Flare wore off and Gohan blinked his eyes a couple of times.

"So, Gohan, are you ready? Is there anything else you'd like to say to me?"

"No, let's just do this." Cell smiled.

"Good." The 2 fighters vanished into the air.

Back in the Cavern, Gotenks was struggling against 6 Cell Jr., but wasn't able to feel their energy until it was too late, or even see them.

"This is getting ridiculous." Gotenks said aloud to himself. 'I don't know where these things are coming from, how can I fight them?' Another fist hit Gotenks in the face, while a foot hit him in the back. 'How many of them are there even?' Gotenks focused himself as he tightened his guard even further. He noticed a short pause after one of the attacks, and then he was quickly hit 6 more times. 'If each of them hits me once before backing off, then there should be 6 of them. Plus, they keep doing these cowardly hit and run attacks, so they must know that I'm stronger than them, I just need to figure out where they're going to hit.' Gotenks had his arms crossed in front of his face to block some of the attacks.

It wasn't much though, as a punch came from the front and hit Gotenks right in the face. "Got you!" The arm of the Cell Jr. was right above Gotenks crossed arms. He quickly grabbed the arm and had the Cell Jr. immobile. The attacks on Gotenks quickly ceased. "Aaaaaahhh!" Gotenks powered up and kicked the Cell Jr. hard in the side. The Cell Jr. went flying into a wall. Gotenks then quickly became a Super Saiyan and spat out a single Kamikaze Ghost. "Stay right there." Gotenks quickly went back to his base form and flew down beneath the ghost."

"Kah! Get him!" One of the Cell Jr. yelled out. A Cell Jr. flew right at where Gotenks had been standing and punched the Kamikaze Ghost in the face.

"Heh heh heh." The ghost laughed. "Bad move!" The kamikaze ghost suddenly started to glow.

"Huh?" The ghost then blew up and completely incinerated the Cell Jr. that had attacked it. The rest of the Cell Jr. stopped where they were in shock. The Kamikaze Ghost was for more than just taking out a single Cell Jr. though. The explosion lit up the cave and from below Gotenks could see 5 small figures.

"I see you." Gotenks said to himself as he powered back up into a Super Saiyan. He quickly flew around to all of them and kicked them all straight up. The 5 Cell Jr. all burst through the surface of the Earth and went high into the air. Gotenks quickly followed after them. Gotenks and the 5 remaining Cell Jr. were now out in the daylight and as the Cell Jr. slowly circled him, Gotenks got his first good look at them. "Just what are you freaks? Huh, guess I just answered my own question."

"You're gonna die!" One of them yelled out as the others all laughed. Gotenks smiled.

"Not before all of you. I kicked one of your earlier, but that wasn't a normal kick. It was a Nuclear Kick. And now, it's time for it to, detonate!" The Cell Jr. off to Gotenks's right suddenly blew up. "Well now, guess there's just 4 of you left."

"Destructo Disk!" The Cell Jr. behind Gotenks threw it at his back. The Destructo Disk, launched at such a close range seemed like a sure fire hit, but Gotenks just barely dodged himself over top of it. The Cell Jr. that was directly in front of Gotenks wasn't so lucky though. It cut him right in half. Gotenks stuck his hand out and fired a blast at the 2 halves and vaporized them.

"Just 3 left. You guys aren't so tough when I can see you."

"Power up!" The remaining 3 Cell Jr. quickly powered up to their max.

"What? You mean you guys were holding back before. That wasn't smart." One of them quickly punched Gotenks across the face to his left; another quickly kicked him in the gut, while the 3rd one hit him lower to the ground.

"Tri-Beam!" "Special Beam Cannon!" "Kamehameha!" The 3 Cell Jr. each let loose a different attack. The Tri-Beam hit first and sent dust and smoke up into the air. The Special Beam Cannon and the Kamehameha then both hit at the same time. The 3 Cell Jr. smiled to each other. Off to the side they noticed Bardock floating in mid-air. He had been watching the fight since they had been above ground. The 3 Cell Jr. stared at Bardock. "You're next! Ki-ki-ki!"

"You're pretty stupid." Bardock casually said. "I'm not the one that you should be looking at." One of the Cell Jr. charged at Bardock. Its fist was stretched out ahead of it and only inches from Bardock's face. It smiled as it drew nearer, but then it suddenly blew up. A figure, moving so fast that it appeared only as a blur had come up from the ground and destroyed it in one hit.

"You creatures were holding back. Well so was I." Gotenks appeared in front of them, his long blonde hair and lack of eyebrows made it obvious that he was now a Super Saiyan 3. Gotenks stuck his finger in the air and formed a ring of light. "Galactica Donut!" He threw the ring at the Cell Jr. and it quickly ensnared one of them. "Kamehameha!" A quick shot from a Kamehameha then vaporized the ensnared Cell Jr. "Just one left." The Cell Jr. took off at full speed in the opposite direction of Gotenks. "Oh no you don't!" Gotenks quickly pursued him at full speed. In mere seconds Gotenks was flying directly beside it. "Hi." The Cell Jr. looked over to the side of it; its mouth was hanging open in complete surprise. With a single swift chop, the Cell Jr.'s head came off and the whole thing went up in a cloud of smoke. Gotenks smiled and powered back down to his base form. He flew over to Bardock. "Aww, man! My incredible talents go to waste again."

"Pretty good." Bardock said. "Where's Gohan?"

"Huh? Um, I don't know."

"You don't know?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Rematch, Cell vs. Gohan**

Gohan and Cell had taken off into the air; both were just flying straight up. They passed through the clouds and continued higher into the sky. Cell's eyes glanced over towards Gohan briefly. Gohan didn't pay it any notice and continued to fly higher. Cell smiled to himself and with a "Ha!" picked up his pace and began to fly even faster. 'This should be far enough.' Cell stuck out his arm and fired off a blast towards Gohan. Gohan quickly batted the blast away with his right hand and then flew in quick and landed a left punch to Cell's face. Cell stumbled backwards and stopped himself. Gohan continued his pursuit with a right knee to the chest, but Cell's left arm quickly blocked it. Continuing with his momentum, Gohan thrust his head forward towards Cell. Cell quickly reacted by doing the same and their two foreheads hit each other in a head butt.

"You've gotten stronger Cell." Gohan said with his head still against Cell's.

"More than you can realize." Cell hit Gohan in the face with a right hook. With his fist still in Gohan's face, Cell began to smile and laugh. "Heh, heh, heh. Ha ha ha. Bwah ha ha!" Cell quickly stopped laughing though when he saw Gohan smiling as well.

"Like I was saying Cell, you've gotten stronger. But…" Gohan paused here for a little. "…heh heh, you're still nowhere near my level."

"We'll see." Cell went to then punch Gohan in the face with his left hand, but Gohan ducked and delivered a right upper hook to Cell's gut.

"Hya!" Gohan then did a right front kick and sent Cell flying even higher into the air. Gohan quickly flew after Cell and got underneath him. With another fierce kick he sent him even higher. Gohan continued his pursuit, but Cell was finally beginning to recover. While still flying upwards Cell formed a Destructo Disk in each hand and threw them at Gohan. Gohan continued to fly towards Cell. As if in slow motion, Gohan spun in mid-flight and dodged both of the Destructo Disks by mere millimeters. He then suddenly appeared in front of Cell, still spinning; he delivered a devastating left spinning backhand to Cell's face. Cell's face seemed to distort as he was flung sideways through the sky.

"Damn you Gohan!" Gohan smiled at Cell's anger and rushed forward again. This time though, Cell held his ground. Gohan aimed a right elbow at Cell's face, but Cell blocked it and countered with a right punch to Gohan's face. Gohan was still too fast though and dodged this as well. They then both started rapidly exchanging punches and kicks, as they continued even higher into the air. Gohan managed to block and dodge all of Cell's attacks while Cell was only managing to block about half of Gohan's. Then it happened, their two fists connected with each other and a giant shockwave pushed them both apart. They both floated there high in the air, but Gohan was panting. He then suddenly grabbed his shirt in front of his heart and started panting desperately. "It worked." Cell smiled to himself.

Meanwhile, Bebidi's spaceship had been moved to a new location and Bebidi was watching the match between Gohan and Cell on a crystal ball of his own. Cooler and Turles were with him. "My word." Bebidi said aloud. "Cell is doing much better than I ever expected. His plan for defeating Gohan was brilliant."

"Plan? What plan?" Turles said aloud.

"I know what his plan is." Cooler said while smiling. "It's ingenious."

"So fill me in then."

"Tell me, why do you think Gohan is so tired, despite being the one that is dominating the match?"

"I don't know. I was wondering about that myself though."

"Look at the sky around them, it's practically black."

"I get it now; the air is so thin up there that Gohan is having trouble breathing."

"Right, but Cell has the cells of my brother Frieza in him. He can breathe just fine up really high in the atmosphere like that. Thin air wouldn't bother him, just like it wouldn't bother me."

"So, Cell's evened out the playing field. But can he win?"

"Not likely." Bebidi spoke up. "That is, unless, I give him a boost."

"A boost?"

"Bebidi!" Cooler yelled. "If you give him a boost you could seriously hurt yourself!"

"We have an actual chance at getting rid of Gohan, we have to take it. I'm setting up a telepathic link with Cell now to tell him what to do."

Back up in the upper atmosphere, Gohan and Cell had continued their fighting. Though Cell was faring better than before, Gohan still seemed to have the upper hand. The two fighters clashed again when Cell heard the voice in his head. Gohan punched Cell in the face and sent him reeling backwards again. Gohan held his ground though and tried to catch his breathe some more. "Who is that!?" Cell said aloud. Gohan didn't seem to notice and continued his heavy breathing.

"Cell, this is Bebidi."

"What do you want? You said we could handle things ourselves."

"Stop talking! Just think what you want to say or else Gohan will hear you and catch on."

'Fine, but hurry it up. I think I'm getting an advantage here, but I'm still pretty worn out myself. I'm just making sure that Gohan doesn't see it.'

"I have a little surprise for you involving your Mejinn power."

'Hmm, what do you mean? Wait! You're not going to take it away are you? I've only done what you asked. If I lose my Mejinn power now, then I'm finished!'

"Just shut up and relax! I'm going to give you a boost, but as you are now, it won't do much. So instead, use your Multi-Form technique. I can power those up enough so that there will be hardly any power and speed loss. That way you can overwhelm Gohan easily, but it's a great strain to me, so I can't keep it up for long. You'll have 2 minutes at the absolute most! Got it?"

'I was kind of hoping to do this on my own. The saiyan cells in me do have that strong sense of pride after all.' Cell smiled then. 'But, I'm not a saiyan. I want to win and I'll do it at any cost. Alright, I'll go along with your plan.'

"Cell!" Gohan yelled, with his arms crossed in front of him. "Just what has you smiling? From the way I see it, you're still losing this fight."

"Oh nothing much. It's just that seeing you stand there like that reminds me of Vegeta. After I deal with you, I'll go after him next."

"Vegeta helped me defeat you last time Cell, but I don't need anyone's help this time around."

"Fine then. Let's see you handle this, Multi-Form!" Cell then suddenly split into 4 copies of himself. "Hmm, hmm, hmm! Now you're finished, son of Goku!"

"Son of Goku Are you trying to be dramatic Cell? Please, you can just call me Gohan." Gohan smiled at Cell. "You know that's a bad move Cell. This is just going to make things even more fun for me."

"Cell!" Bebidi yelled as he put his hand on the crystal ball. "I give you my power! Do it now!"

'Right!' The 4 Cell's all charged at Gohan. Gohan readied himself and easily dodged the first attack.

'Strange.' Gohan thought to himself. 'He is a little slower, but his power should be divided in 4 now. If this is ¼ of his power, then…' Gohan's thoughts were interrupted as a double axe hand smash hit the back of his head. He didn't go flying down though as a knee to his gut kept him in his place. Another fist came from another direction, but Gohan blocked this one. Gohan then quickly flew back a short distance as the 4 Cells followed after him. He was quickly surrounded again. Gohan spun around rapidly trying to dodge and block all of the attacks. It was all he could do; as he wasn't even given enough time to strike back against so many foes. Then, the Cells all hopped away from Gohan. Gohan quickly turned around and found one the Cells charging a Special Beam Cannon. 'Oh, no! I was too busy trying to defend myself that I didn't notice that one of them wasn't attacking!' Gohan quickly put his hands together above his head.

"Special Beam Cannon!" Cell stuck his arm out and the blast fired out of his fingers.

"Masenko-ha!" Gohan put his hands in front of him right as the Special Beam Cannon was reaching him. The Masenko clashed with the Special Beam Cannon and slowly started to push it back. "Yaaaaaahh!" The Masenko then quickly pushed back the Special Beam Cannon and blew off Cell's right arm completely. Gohan smiled a little, but was then quickly punched in the face by another Cell; they then started to pummel Gohan repeatedly. The 4th Cell regenerated his arm and then joined back in as well. The 4 Cells then distanced themselves from each other and started to hit Gohan back and forth between them.

"Ha ha ha! Anyone up for some Ping Pong?" "Sure, I'll play." Another Cell responded. "Okay, serving!" One Cell then hit Gohan towards another Cell. Gohan's eyes closed as he felt the pain from yet another blow. As he was sent in the direction of another Cell his eyes opened slightly.

'It's so dark, but it was just daylight out? Hey, those are stars I see.' Gohan's eyes then closed again and he recalled a memory from when he was a child.

Goku was still missing after the fight with Frieza on Namek and Chi-Chi had decided to personally teach Gohan that day.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi yelled. "Why do mountain climbers take along canisters of Oxygen with them?"

"Gee mom, I don't know."

"Yes, you do Gohan! Just think about what you've been studying recently." Gohan sat there and thought about it for a minute.

"Oh! I know now. It's because they go into higher altitudes and the air is thinner up there. The higher they go, the thinner it gets and they need the extra Oxygen because there isn't enough in the air at those high altitudes."

"That's absolutely right Gohan. Good job!"

"Gee mom, why do I need to know that though? I'm not gonna be a mountain climber."

"I'm just helping you realize how it's related to actual real life experiences. I know you may think that learning stuff like this is a waste of time and that you'd rather be off training, but being smart is just as important as being strong; probably even more important."

Gohan opened his eyes back up and smiled a little. 'I guess mom always pushing me hard to study wasn't such a bad thing after all." Gohan still wasn't able to do anything though, as another hit sent him flying towards another Cell.

At that same time in Bebidi's spaceship; Bebidi was sweating and breathing heavily. "I can't keep it up any longer." Bebidi muttered. He then fell forward onto the ground. "Cell, I can't give you any more of my power now. You'll have to make due with regular Mejinn power now." Bebidi then went unconscious.

High up in the atmosphere, Cell never received the message. Bebidi's psychic link with Cell had broken down before his final warning. Cell, still smiling and having a good time, threw a kick at Gohan. With his reduced speed though, Gohan was able to easily dodge it. At the same time as dodging, Gohan did a flip and landed a kick to the back of Cell's head. Cell went flying away and stopped himself in front of the 3 other Cells. Gohan stared at the 4 Cells, as they all smiled their devilish grins. "You're going down Gohan." One of the Cells boldly stated. Gohan smirked back at them.

"You're right, I am going down." Gohan then took off at full speed back towards the Earth's surface. 'I better put up an energy shield in front of me, or else I could get burned a little on the way down.' Gohan put up some energy in front of him as he continued his descent. The 4 Cells took off after Gohan.

"Damn it! Why are we going so slow?" "The extra power must have worn off! We need to become one again!" "Right!" The 4 Cells all converged and formed back into one being again. Cell's speed picked up dramatically, but he was still trailing behind Gohan. Gohan slammed into the ground, creating a crater at least 30 meters wide in diameter. Gohan breathed in deep.

"Aah." He took another deep breath, then another, and finally one more. "That's much better." Cell landed near Gohan. "That was pretty sneaky of you Cell, luring me so high up into the air so you'd have an advantage. Whatever happened to wanting a fair fight?"

"All is fair in a fight to the death. Besides, I held you up there long enough. You've lost a lot of power. I think I can finish you now."

"I can't feel it too well, but I bet you've lost some power too."

"Let's find out." Cell put his hands behind his back. "Kaaaaaaa…"

"Yaaah!" Gohan fired a blast at Cell. Cell vanished and appeared behind Gohan. "Ugh!" Gohan quickly turned around and raced towards Cell. Cell vanished again and reappeared a little distance from him.

"…meeeeeeeee…"

'He's trying to pull off a warp Kamehameha! I have to stop him!' Gohan put his hands behind him and started to power up a Kamehameha of his own. "Kaaaaaammmeeeeee…"

"…haaaaaaaa…" Cell continued to vanish and reappear all around Gohan.

"…haaaaaaaameeeee…"

"…meeeeeee…" Cell then appeared high above Gohan. "…Gohan! This warping around has just been so you wouldn't interrupt my charging. Now though, the blast has gotten large enough so that you wouldn't dare to dodge it. Just think of all the damage it would do to the Earth. Now die! Haaaaaaaa!"

"…haaaaaaaaa!" Cell and Gohan both fired off their Kemehameha waves. The 2 blasts clashed halfway and pushed back and forth at each other.

"Just like old times, isn't it Gohan? Except that this time Vegeta isn't here to save you. Nobody is!"

"It is similar to before Cell! But this time, I also have 2 good arms, and more importantly…" Gohan's Kamehameha began pushing Cell's back even further. "…the difference between us is even larger now then it was then! Haaa!" Gohan's Kamehameha quickly shot up towards Cell, as if Cell's blast wasn't even there.

"What!? No!" Cell quickly abandoned his Kamehameha and flew up. The blast was traveling too quickly though and blew off Cell's lower half. Gohan's blast flew high up into space and Cell started to fall to the ground. Gohan looked over towards Cell and put his hands above his head.

"Masenko!" Gohan's blast hit Cell as he was falling. From where he was, Gohan couldn't tell what Cell's condition was. What was left of Cell's body hit the ground. Gohan quickly flew over to it and stood above it. Cell only had his right arm and the upper most part of his torso. The left part of his head was even blown off so that Cell only had 1 eye. "It's over Cell! I'm not giving you a chance to regenerate." Gohan began to power up a Masenko.

"Ha ha ha, ha ha ha!" Cell laughed as he slowly moved his fingers up to his head.

"What are you…?"

"See you later, Gohan." Cell smiled as his fingers reached what was left of his forehead.

"No!" Gohan quickly shot his Masenko at Cell. Just before it hit though, Cell had used his Instant Transmission to escape. Gohan stared at the small hole that his blast just made. "Darn it. He got away." Gohan looked around a little bit until he felt the direction the lookout was in. He then started to casually fly back to it.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: More Special Training**

Up on the lookout, Goku told the others the condition of getting the mystic power-up.

"That seems awfully crude to me." Tien said.

"Hey Goku!" the old Kai yelled inside his head. "Make sure you tell the short guy that his picture has to be of his wife, number 18." Goku's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"Did he say something else?"

"Um, yeah. It's a message for Krillin."

"For me?" Krillin said surprised.

"Umm, yeah. He says it has to be a picture of 18."

"What!? Forget it then! I'm not going to ask my wife to do something like that!"

"Heh." Yamcha smiled to himself. "Tell him I'll have some pictures ready for him by tomorrow."

"What!? Yamcha, don't tell me you're going through with this."

"If that's all it takes, then I'll have it done in no time."

"Well…" Goku began. "…if you're willing to do it Yamcha, then I'll let him know."

"I…" Tien stuttered. "…I think I know of a way I can do that." Tien's face went red with embarrassment.

"I want to see just how much of a difference it'll actually make." Krillin stated. "Maybe if it makes a huge difference I'll bring up the topic to 18, but even then I wouldn't ask her! I'd just tell her about it is all."

"Okay." Goku said. "I'll pass the message along." Goku did just that and then fell over to the very happy and very loud screams that came from the Old Kai. "Oh, hey Trunks."

"Uh." Future Trunks had been daydreaming and was quickly snapped out of it. "What is it Goku?"

"Well, you're only a half-saiyan, like Gohan, so it could probably work for you too. The Old Kai has already said that it wouldn't work on me or Vegeta because pure saiyans have limitless potential. But it could work on you."

"I guess so, but, I'm not too keen on the idea of getting some girly pictures for him."

"Forget it." The Old Kai said.

"But why?" Goku asked. "Trunks would be really strong if you gave him the mystic power-up."

"First off, I'm sick of having to listen to you repeat everything I say to them. I'm broadening the connection so that the rest of them can hear me as well and I'll be able to hear them." There was a short pause before the Old Kai started talking again. "Trunks, can you hear me?"

"Wah." Trunks was easily startled by the voice suddenly appearing in his head. "Yes sir! I can hear you sir!"

"Second, you can drop the commando act. Also, Yamcha, Tien, Krillin, can the rest of you hear me as well?"

"Yes, we can all hear you." Krillin said aloud.

"Good, because what I'm about to say concerns a decision that you all must make together. The mystic power-up, as you've taken to calling it, is indeed very powerful. But there's something else you don't realize about it."

"Really?" Yamcha blurted out. "What's that?"

"If you'd be quiet then I'd tell you!"

"Oh! I'm sorry." Yamcha quickly shut his mouth after that. The Old Kai sighed.

"Well, it's not something I can just keep doing as much as I want. I've had a good amount of time to rest since I gave the mystic power to Gohan, so I can do it again, but not as much as I want. Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin are of a lower caliber of power than Gohan was. I could make all 3 of them mystic, but then I wouldn't be able to make Trunks mystic. Likewise, I could make Trunks mystic, but then I wouldn't be able to do that for any of the others. I'll help you guys out, but you need to decide for yourself who should get it."

"Well guys…" Goku said. "…I didn't know this would happen. It's also not my place to say which of you should get it." They were all silent.

"All that power sure is tempting." Krillin stated aloud. "But, maybe we should go for another strong fighter instead. I'm not sure."

"Hold on now you guys!" Trunks said. "We don't know just how strong it would make me; it might not be worth it."

"I can take a guess." Kibitoshen said.

"Kibitoshen? Is that you?" Goku wondered aloud. "I didn't know you were there."

"Yes, I've been here the whole time. I believe I can gauge how powerful everyone would be. Remember, I am the one that saw Gohan's potential."

"Hey now, I saw it long before you showed up."

"Well, what I meant was, oh never mind. Anyway, I'll be right there."

"Huh?" In an instant Kibitoshen appeared before all of them. "Wah, gosh, don't scare me like that supreme kai."

"Sorry Goku, but I need to meet the person myself to judge their potential." Kibitoshen slowly walked in front of Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin. He stared them up and down as he did so. Then he walked over to Trunks and did the same. "Okay, I'm done. I believe Trunks has almost as much potential as Gohan, but not quite. He'd end up being at least as strong as you Goku, when you're a Super Saiyan 3 anyway."

"Woooooowwwwww. That sure is powerful. What about the others?"

"They'd be somewhere between a Super Saiyan 1 and 2. I'm not sure what to call it, though they'd be at around Trunks's current maximum level; maybe a little below that."

"Oh! We call that Ultra Super Saiyan."

"Well, I've done my part then. You guys will have to make this decision yourself."

"I think Trunks should get it." Tien boldly stated without hesitation. Everyone looked at him. "If we all get killed, we can come back to life with the Dragonballs. When this whole mess is over with we'll be doing that to bring Chiaotzu and Yajirobe back anyway, right guys?"

"We can figure out a way." Dende said as he finally spoke up.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Krillin added.

"I think it's more important that we add another really strong fighter to our roster instead of making us three a little stronger."

"I understand your point Tien." Yamcha said back to him. "But, I'm not going to pretend that I'm brave. If this gives me a better chance at surviving in this next big battle, then I want it."

"Fine, but my vote is still for Trunks."

"Fine and my vote is for us. Krillin, who are you voting for?"

"I'm not going to lie either. Tien's idea is probably better for the big picture, but I have a kid now. I don't want her growing up without a father, so, I choose us."

"Krillin!" Tien yelled. "But…"

"Don't bother Tien! I've made up my mind. I'm not proud of my decision, but I'm sticking with it."

"Okay, then only Trunks is left. If he votes for himself then it's a tie."

"Well what would we do then?"

"We can let Goku decide. We all trust his judgment, right?"

"Okay…" Yamcha said. "…Goku gets to be a tiebreaker."

"I'm fine with that too." Krillin said.

"That won't be necessary you guys." Trunks stated. "I'm voting for you guys to get it."

"But, why?" Tien asked puzzled.

"I'll tell you why." Vegeta said as he stepped forward. "It's because he has true saiyan pride. He'd rather train hard for his power then have it handed to him."

"On top of that…" Piccolo began to speak up. "…you 3 humans will be involved in this fight. Like it or not, the enemy is after you as well, so you'll need the power. We can't let all of our strongest fighters be distracted with protecting the weaker ones. Why do you think I didn't ask for it?"

"I completely forgot that you could get it too Piccolo." Goku said.

"It's settled then." The Old Kai said inside of all their heads. "I'll give Yamcha the power-up first, then Tien, and Krillin will go last, assuming he goes at all because none of you are going mystic unless I get my pictures!"

"Ancestor." Kibitoshen moaned aloud.

Elsewhere on the lookout, Raditz had been led to a room with a large pendulum in it. Mr. Popo had directed him to stand underneath it and then close his eyes. After about a minute of silence Raditz got annoyed.

"Hey! How is this supposed to help?" Raditz didn't get an answer and only got further annoyed. "Fine! I'm opening up my eyes then!" Raditz opened his eyes and found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment. He didn't know it, but he was on Namek. "Where, am I?" Raditz walked around a little and stopped before a long winding river. "Hello! Is anyone here!?" Raditz yelled loudly, but didn't even get an echo to respond. 'What am I supposed to be doing here?'

Raditz continued to walk around aimlessly. Almost an hour had passed, and then he stumbled upon a heavily damaged namekian village. Dead namekians were strewn about all over the village. 'This is brutal. I can tell that at least half of these dead namekians were warriors. I know for a fact that even weak namekian warriors aren't pushovers.' "Who could have done this?"

"That would be me." Raditz quickly turned around and looked in the air above him.

"Ve, Vegeta!" It was indeed Vegeta and he slowly floated down to the ground.

"Raditz? You're alive?"

"Of course I am. You know that."

"You can't be Raditz. He died a year ago. You must be some sort of clone made by Frieza. I get it now. You're after my Dragonball! Aren't you!? Start talking! What do you know!?" Vegeta began to walk closer to Raditz. Raditz slowly started to back away from Vegeta.

"I, I don't know what you're talking about!"

"So, you're just going to play stupid, huh? Well, then you can just die!" Vegeta leapt forward and hit Raditz into the air with an open palm strike from his right hand. Raditz went flying into the air but managed to stop himself about 50 feet above the ground. He looked down at where Vegeta had been, but he was gone now. Raditz started to shake.

'Where is he?' Raditz began frantically scanning over the ground for any sign of Vegeta.

"I'm, right, here." Vegeta slowly whispered into Raditz's ear. With sweat now covering his face, Raditz turned around. As soon as he did though, Vegeta smashed him in the face. Raditz's nose broke instantly and blood went flying out of it. Raditz himself went slamming into the ground. Raditz got onto his hands and knees only to see a puddle of blood forming below his face. He quickly put his hand against his face and turned around to where Vegeta had hit him from. Vegeta was now floating directly above him with his arm stretched out. "See you in hell Raditz." Vegeta then fired off a fatal blast at Raditz.

"Noooooooo!" The bright light that had surrounded Raditz was suddenly gone and he found himself back in the scarcely lit Pendulum room. He frantically looked around and saw Mr. Popo standing in front of him. "What, what was that? Did that just happen? Was it real?"

"Oh my, you didn't learn anything at all, did you?"

"What do you mean?"

"What you experienced were the events on the old planet Namek. I see Vegeta found you and killed you while you were there." Popo could tell that Raditz was still confused. "All of that was in your mind. This room can take events from the past and put you in them. But you're not really there. It's more like a game, to see what would happen if you were there."

"Well then what was the point of it?"

"You can't get any stronger physically with this type of training, but it can still heighten your awareness of other's energy. I figured that Namek would be the perfect place for you to train that skill. Since everyone there is stronger than you, you're left with no choice but to remain hidden. In order to do that successfully you must be able to suppress your own ki and sense the ki of others. That is why I sent you there."

"I see." Raditz formed a fist with his right hand. "Okay, I'm ready to try it again!"

"That's the spirit." Mr. Popo smiled as he continued his training of Raditz.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Interrupted Rest**

Bardock came flying up to the lookout. Goten and Trunks were in his arms, their heads resting on his shoulders. The fusion had worn off and both had fallen asleep. He landed and instantly got the attention of Goku and Vegeta.

"Uh! Trunks!" Vegeta yelled.

"Goten!" Goku quickly followed suite. Both of them rushed over to Bardock.

"It's okay." Bardock reassured them. "They're both just tired, but otherwise they're fine."

"Thank goodness." Vegeta sighed to himself.

"Wait, where's Gohan?" Goku quickly asked.

"You mean…" Bardock began to respond. "…he hasn't come back yet?"

"No, he left with you guys. Did something happen?" Bardock handed Trunks over to Vegeta and gave Goten to Goku.

"Gotenks told me he lost track of him when they were searching and…" Bardock paused, not sure of what else to say.

"We have to go looking for him, now!" Just then Gohan came descending to the ground.

"It's okay dad." Gohan yelled. "I'm right here."

"Gohan! I'm glad you're alright, but what happened? Why weren't you with your brother?"

"We got ambushed by Cell."

"By Cell!?"

"Yeah, he got his hand on me and then warped us out of there so we could fight 1 on 1."

"Well, you're here, so I know you won, but is there anything else you can tell us?"

"Well, he was definitely stronger, but I was still way tougher than him. I messed up though. I wasn't able to finish him off and he got away. Gotenks should be able to handle him easily enough though. You might be able to as well dad."

"What about me?" Vegeta asked.

"Well…"

"Don't dance around it! Just out with it!"

"Maybe, but he'd have the advantage." Vegeta didn't say anything, but just narrowed his eyes and stared at the ground. The group talked a little more before they all headed their own ways. Bardock and Raditz were going to be staying with Piccolo up on the lookout. Goku carried Goten as he flew home with Gohan. Krillin and Tien flew back to Roshi's house, while Yamcha went back to his home in the city and agreed to meet up with them later. Vegeta carried Kid Trunks as he flew home with Future Trunks. Along the way, Future Trunks brought something up to Vegeta.

"Dad."

"Yes, what is it?"

"I didn't want to say anything in front of the others, but my Time Machine is missing." Trunks waited and gave Vegeta a chance to respond, but he didn't say anything. "I think Bebidi may have stolen it." There was more silence between the two. "Dad, I have to get it back, no matter what. If I don't then I can never return to my time. Mom would be…" Vegeta finally spoke up.

"Your mother would be alone." There was some more silence. "That is what you were going to say, wasn't it?"  
"Yes. I'm not concerned about getting back for my own sake, but I worry about her. She'd be all alone."

"Didn't she…" Vegeta stopped.

"Didn't she, what?" Vegeta turned his head further away. He began to get embarrassed. "What were you going to say father?"

"Just forget about it!" Vegeta's yelling made Kid Trunks stir in his arms. 'She never found another man?' Vegeta and Trunks landed outside of Capsule Corp. Vegeta began to walk off.

"Father, would you like to train a little today?" Vegeta paused.

"No thanks. I'm not in the mood." Vegeta walked inside the huge building. After handing Trunks over to Bulma he walked upstairs and entered one of the many bathrooms of the building. 'I'm wiped. Fighting Zarbon wore me out a little.' Vegeta took his gloves and shirt off and tossed them in a corner. He then did the same with the rest of his clothes. Vegeta moved the glass door and stepped into the shower. He closed it and turned the shower on. The cold water hit Vegeta's face, but he was used to that. 'It's cold.' Vegeta then turned the hot water on to full. 'I told Kakarot to be serious and not joke around when it came time to fight, then I go and refuse to transform against Zarbon. If I had transformed, I could have taken him down without tiring myself out.'

Vegeta sighed. 'I'm not injured, but I am tired. Trunks and Goten were tired too; maybe all I need to do is take a little nap.' The door to the bathroom then opened and he heard someone step inside. 'Tsk, I forgot to lock the door.' "Hey! I'm using the bathroom! Do you mind?" There was no response. Steam had quickly formed on the glass door making it impossible to see who it was. 'It must be Bulma.' Vegeta closed his eyes again and let the water flow over him again. He heard footsteps as they got closer and closer. Then, the door was slid open. Vegeta opened his eyes and looked back over. "Ugh, Frieza!"

"Heh, heh, heh." Frieza laughed to himself. "Looks like I caught you with your pants down." Frieza powered up a blast in his left hand.

'I'm trapped! Unless…' Vegeta quickly crossed his arms in front of his face and flew backwards through the wall. Frieza fired the blast at Vegeta as he went through the wall and into the outdoors. Vegeta powered up to SS2 and swatted the blast away into the air. Frieza came flying at Vegeta, but Vegeta did a quick right backhand that sent Frieza flying away. 'Damn! I need to find some clothes!' Vegeta quickly flew back into the hole and raced into his room. He grabbed some training shorts and quickly put them on, followed by a spare pair of boots that were laying by his bead. He quickly opened his closet, but only found one clean shirt in there. "Why did it have to be that one!?"

Meanwhile, Future Trunks had rushed outside to see what caused the noise. He made it outside just in time to see Frieza go flying by from Vegeta's hit. "Was that…" Trunks's eyes followed Frieza as he went flying. "…Frieza?" Just then Trunks's entire body got slammed into the ground. King Cold stood on top of him. Trunks managed to turn his head around enough to look up to see who it was. "King Cold!"

"Hello there." Vegeta then went flying out of the hole in the wall and quickly looked around for Frieza. Frieza came flying back and floated in the air in front of Vegeta. "My son really wants to kill Vegeta. So I'm not going to let you interfere." With his massive hands, King Cold grabbed both of Trunks's arms and held him in the air. With his arms stuck to his side, Trunks felt the pain of King Cold trying to crush his body. "You will die here!" King Cold squeezed even harder as Trunks yelled out in pain.

Inside the house, Kid Trunks's eyes suddenly popped open. Without even thinking he transformed into a Super Saiyan and flew through the house to the front door. Without even stopping, Kid Trunks rammed into the back of King Cold and sent him sliding across the front lawn. Future Trunks quickly hopped up to his feet and transformed into a Super Saiyan himself. The two Trunks both got into fighting stances as King Cold stood back up.

Floating up in the air, Frieza and Vegeta had gotten into a stare down. But Frieza broke it by smiling and beginning to talk.

"Vegeta." Frieza stretched out the pronunciation of the name. "Why did you run off?"

"Not all of us are okay with fighting naked like you are Frieza!" Vegeta gruffly replied.

"Well I must say; I do just love that shirt of yours." Vegeta was wearing his pink Badman shirt.

"Shut up Frieza! You infiltrated my home and caught me off guard! I already know what's going on so you can skip an explanation. Just know this, I will kill you!" Frieza's smile had faded and was replaced by a frown.

"Vegeta, that is my line. I will be the one to kill you."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Saiyan Vengeance**

Frieza and Vegeta quickly charged at each other after having briefly exchanged words. Down below on the ground, both Trunks had gone Super Saiyan. King Cold stared at them while smiling.

"Come on now." He said while gesturing for them to come forward. "Anytime you're ready."

"Hey bro." Future Trunks said to Kid Trunks.

"Huh? We're not brothers, are we?"

"It's just a saying so forget about that. We need to figure out how to take this guy down."

"That's easy. Like this!" Kid Trunks flew forward through the air right at King Cold.

"Wait! Stop!" Kid Trunks took a swing at King Cold's face only to have him dodge. King Cold quickly hopped up and elbowed him into the ground. Kid Trunk's bounced off the ground once and landed on his back. King Cold's right hand then started to glow purple as he gazed at Kid Trunks on the ground. 'I have to stop him!' Future Trunks moved his hands around rapidly and then stuck them out in front of him. "Burning Attack!" King Cold looked up just in time to have the blast hit him in the chest. There was an explosion and King Cold went flying backwards and skidded out into the street. Future Trunks rushed over to Kid Trunks and kneeled down beside him. "Hey! You alright?" Kid Trunks sat up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Owww! I mean, that didn't hurt a bit."

"Then why are you rubbing your head?"

"Just shut up!" Kid Trunks stood up. "I won't mess up this time."

"Hold on! Just stand back for now and let me take him." Future Trunks then powered up into his Ultra Super Saiyan form. He took it as far as he could go without losing any speed.

"Woah! Your muscles are like ginormous!"

"I can get even stronger than this, but then I get too slow. I think I can take him like this, so just wait here for now. Understand?"

"Oh fine."

Up above them in the air Frieza and Vegeta were rapidly exchanging punches. Vegeta was managing to dodge all of Frieza's attack and land quite a few hits of his own.

"Yah!" Vegeta yelled as he landed a downward right punch on Frieza's face. He followed it up with a left knee to Frieza's gut and then a left backhand to his face. Frieza went twirling back in the air and then regained his composure. Frieza pointed his finger at Vegeta and instantly a thin purple beam of energy shot out of it. Vegeta dodged it by less than a centimeter as it went past his face. Frieza continued to fire his Death Beam shots at Vegeta. Vegeta quickly dodged in and out of all of them, slowly getting closer to Frieza. Then after one shot, when he was finally close enough, he leapt forward and hit Frieza in the face with his right knee. Frieza backed off and put his hands across his face as blood came running out of his nose.

"Curse you Vegeta!" Frieza yelled in anger. "You're not holding back at all, are you?" Vegeta simply stared at him.

'I'm going to keep my promise this time. No holding back at all.' Vegeta thought to himself as the lightning from his Super Saiyan 2 aura crackled around him.

"Fine then. I never thought you'd get to see 100%." Frieza's muscles suddenly bulged out and he was at full power. "Now I'm more than a match for you." Frieza charged forward and the two of them were once again rapidly exchanging blows, but this time, it was much more even.

Back on the street, King Cold had gotten back up and was now searing with anger.

"Yaaaarrrrggghhh!" King Cold's yell echoed throughout the fighter's ears. He charged forward with his head down and his horns forward.

"Yikes!" Kid Trunks dove out of the way as Future Trunks grabbed his horns. King Cold didn't even slow down though and Trunks was pushed back until they went right through the wall of the Capsule Corp. building. King Cold pushed him through three walls before Future Trunks let out an even louder yell than King Cold. He had gone into his Ultra 2 form. King Cold slowed to a stop and stood there growling.

"You aren't welcome here!" Future Trunks yelled as he then started to push King Cold back. It started slowly, but then began to pick up momentum until he was running forward with King Cold's horns. They ended up back outside the house in no time. Future Trunks then flipped King Cold onto his back while still holding his horns.

"My turn!" Kid Trunks yelled. He flew into the air and his hands started to glow yellow. "Rapid fire!" Kid Trunks then fired off a volley of ki blasts at King Cold. Each one hit its mark and a cloud of smoke was soon covering King Cold. Future Trunks hopped back and reverted back to his regular Ultra form. He was panting and waiting for the dust to clear. Before it did though, King Cold came charging out from it and grabbed Future Trunks's neck with his massive left hand.

"Gack!" Trunks gagged out as he was caught completely off guard. King Cold lifted him into the air and began to squeeze harder as Trunks tried to pull his hand off. Future Trunks desperately gasped for air. 'I can't get loose!' Just then Kid Trunks came flying down at full speed in a kick and hit King Cold's wrist. King Cold's hand loosened and Future Trunks got out of his grip. He immediately charged forward and began rapidly punching King Cold. Kid Trunks also joined in and the two had him completely overwhelmed. Future Trunks then grabbed King Cold's arm and tossed him into the air. "Get back!" He quickly yelled to Kid Trunks.

"Okay!" Kid Trunks took off away from Future Trunks. Future Trunks raised his arms above his head, much like Goku did whenever he made a Spirit Bomb.

"Heat Dome!" A giant blast of energy came out of Trunks's hands and went soaring up into the air. The blast hit King Cold and Trunks put even more of his energy into the blast. "I'll give this everything I've got! Yaaaaaaahhhh!" He yelled as the blast reached its largest size yet. Trunks then fell to the ground as the blast began to fade into the sky. When the blast was finally out of sight, King Cold was nowhere to be seen. Kid Trunks went rushing over to his future self.

"Alright! You did it!" Future Trunks looked up at Kid Trunks and smiled. "By the way, you can call me bro if you want. I don't mind, really."

"Okay, bro." Future Trunks replied back. Just then King Cold came flying down and landed on Future Trunks's back. Future Trunks spat up blood right onto Kid Trunks's face. The blood splattered across the child's face as he stared at him with unblinking eyes. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Kid Trunks at this point. He could see Future Trunks's hair change back to its regular purple color, he could see his back bending as if he were about to be broken in two, worst of all though, he could see the smile on King Cold's face. King Cold was covered in blood and bruises from the attack.

'…' No thoughts went through Kid Trunks's mind. It was as if forgot how to speak or even think thoughts in his head. '…' All images in the world seemed to vanish except for King Cold and Future Trunks. King Cold then quickly looked up into the air where Frieza was. King Cold quickly took off into the air. Kid Trunks's eyes instantly followed him, yet everything still seemed like it was in slow motion.

Vegeta and Frieza had continued their fierce exchange of blows. It was a battle of attrition and both were betting on the other wearing down first.

'In this form…' Vegeta thought to himself '…he uses energy fast. But Zarbon wore me down earlier and that stupid Mejinn power is making me tired. But I still won't lose!' Vegeta gritted his teeth and dodged another one of Frieza's attacks. Vegeta then launched a series of quick punches, far too many for a normal person to count, into Frieza's stomach. He then ended it with fierce right hook to Frieza's gut. Frieza bent over forward and clutched at his gut. He slowly floated away from Vegeta. As he did he coughed up some blood. He was gasping heavily, but Vegeta was also breathing hard.

"Gaaaah!" Frieza yelled into the air. "Damn you Vegeta! Damn you! I'll send you to Hell with this attack and you won't dare dodge it!" Frieza backed up further and put his finger above his head. "This is my Death Ball and it's far more powerful than any attack you have!" Frieza's Death Ball began to form above his finger.

"That thing is a joke compared to my move." Vegeta put his hands together in front of him and began to power up his Final Flash attack. The two fighters quickly powered up their attacks, but Frieza seemed to be far more intimidated than Vegeta. All around them the buildings of the city began to shake. What started with the buildings though, quickly spread to the ground and soon it felt like the whole Earth was shaking. "Do you feel that Frieza!?"

"Wha, what is that?" The terror in Frieza's voice was obvious.

"That's the Earth shaking and it's all because of me!" The energy in Vegeta's hands was spiking out as it became harder for him to control.

"No, I am the Ruler of the Universe. I cannot be defeated!" With that Frieza threw his Death Ball at Vegeta.

"Finnnnnaaaaaalllll Flaaaaaasssshhh!" Vegeta let loose his Final Flash attack. The Final Flash and Death Ball collided, but Vegeta's Final Flash swallowed up the Death Ball and kept on going as if nothing had happened. Frieza began to shake and his eyes got wide. Then something appeared in front of him.

Down below on the ground, Kid Trunks's eyes had instinctively followed King Cold. He watched as King Cold flew in front of Vegeta's Final Flash. With his arms spread apart, he faced Frieza and let the blast hit his back. Frieza watched as his father was quickly vaporized from the edges on in. The blast faded and King Cold, was now definitely dead.

"What, just happened?" Kid Trunks said aloud to himself. Suddenly everything was moving at normal speed again and he had no trouble talking. Kid Trunks never even realized just how close he had come to reaching the next level of Super Saiyan. "He's dead." He said while answering his own question. Up in the air Vegeta's mouth hung open a little.

"Uh." Was all he could mutter out. 'Where did he come from? I wasn't counting on something like that to happen. I put all of my energy into that, I've got nothing left!' Vegeta's thoughts came out one after another in his head. Frieza stared at the air in front of him in shock. Frieza's mouth was hanging open in shock as well.

"This…" Frieza paused for another brief moment. "…is all your faulllllttttt!" Frieza rushed forward and grabbed Vegeta's left arm with his left hand. Frieza then quickly delivered a crushing right punch to the upper part of Vegeta's arm. Both of them could hear the bones crack. Vegeta's eyes got wide and then intense pain suddenly shot through his left arm.

"Yaaaaahhh!" Vegeta cried out in pain as he then slowly tried to back away from Frieza. All the while he kept his right hand on his left arm. Vegeta had lost his Super Saiyan 2 form and was back in his base form.

"Oh no!" Kid Trunks said aloud below. "Dad!" Kid Trunks quickly powered up and flew directly at Frieza. Frieza saw him coming and before Trunks could react, smacked him with the back of his hand across his face. Trunks went flying into the ground. He hit the ground and made a small impact crater. He had lost his Super Saiyan form and was now unconscious, just like the other Trunks.

"Vegeta." Frieza began. "I was just going to kill you, but now I'm going to make you suffer even worse that you did on Namek."

"No Frieza!" A demanding and firm voice said, but it wasn't Vegeta's. It came from behind Frieza.

"That voice!" Frieza began to slowly turn around.

"I won't let you!"

"It's you!" Frieza yelled in anger. Vegeta managed a small smile as he muttered.

"Kakarot."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Mejinn Injuries**

Before Frieza now floated his most hated of enemies, Goku. "You can finish this." Vegeta said as flew to the ground. Once he landed he collapsed and went unconscious.

"How? How did you get here so fast?" Frieza yelled at Goku.

"I knew something was wrong when I felt Vegeta's energy at such a high level, but then it went away and I couldn't find it after that. Then I felt little Trunks's energy and warped here as quickly as I could." Goku replied.

"Well, I guess that explains it then. Now I won't have any regrets at all about killing you." Frieza rushed forward and threw a right hook at Goku. Goku blocked it with his right open palm. The punch slowed down, but was continuing to push Goku's hand back.

"Grah!" Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan and Frieza's fist seemed to stop. "Grrr." Goku looked up and saw Frieza smiling. His fist was still inching forward. "A regular Super Saiyan isn't enough to beat you, is it?"

"Heh, heh, hee. That's right my monkey friend."

"Well then, how about a Super Saiyan 2?" Goku powered up to a Super Saiyan 2 and Frieza's fist came to a complete stop. Frieza started to grunt and growl as he couldn't push his fist any further. Goku then closed his palm and grabbed Frieza's fist. Goku then started to squeeze it.

"Gah!" Frieza and Goku then floated to the ground, still struggling with each other for control. As they landed on the ground Frieza punched Goku in the face. Goku let go of Frieza's hand and then the two of them grappled with each other. Their hands interlocked and both of them had their arms above their head. They grunted, growled, and yelled as they continued to struggle with each other for control. Then, Goku smiled. "Huh? Just what are you smiling about?"

"I was just wondering; is that really all you've got?" Goku then pushed Frieza's arms down. Frieza struggled back in vein and was quickly forced to a knee.

"How can you be this powerful? It's not possible!"

"You just don't get it Frieza, I'm way beyond you. I've even been holding back all this time."

"What!?" Frieza then recalled the images he saw from back in Hell when he watched Goku and Kid Buu fight. 'That's right! He has another level beyond this yet!'

"Well Frieza? Should I go Super Saiyan 3?"

"Remember monkey, it's not always the strongest fighter that wins. Sometimes it's the smartest!" Frieza's eyes began to glow.

"No you don't!" Goku slammed his head forward and head butted Frieza. Frieza's head reeled back and as it did his eye beams shot off into the sky, hitting nothing. "I won't give you a chance to hurt anyone!" Goku then started yelling and powered up to Super Saiyan 3. "Now Frieza! It's over." Just then, Goku caught a glimpse of something moving very quickly towards him. Goku let go of Frieza and moved his head just in time to avoid being kneed in the face by Cooler. Goku quickly then hopped off to the side and put some distance between them. An exhausted Frieza fell to the ground. "Cooler!"

"Goku." Cooler replied.

"We know what you're planning and we won't let it happen."

"You can know what we're planning, but if you don't know how to stop us, then that doesn't mean a thing."

"I'll stop you right here and now!"

"That's not going to happen." Cooler put his foot on top of Frieza's back. "I suggest you see to your friends. They might still be alive." Cooler put two of his right fingers to his forehead and smiled at Goku. "We won this round."

"Wait!" Goku charged forward, only to have Cooler vanish in front of his eyes and go right through where Cooler had just been. Frieza was gone as well.

"The way he moved, there's no mistaking it. Cooler knows how to do the Instant Transmission." Goku then remembered Vegeta. "That's right, Vegeta!" Goku went back to his base form and quickly landed beside Vegeta. Bulma came running out of the damaged house at that point.

"Oh no! Vegeta! Trunks! Both Trunks!" Bulma yelled as she frantically looked around at all of them.

"Stay right here Bulma, I'm going to go get Dende." A few seconds later Goku was back with Dende. He didn't even bother to tell Dende what was going on, he just grabbed him and warped back. "Dende, heal them!"

"What?" Dende said while looking around confused. He then noticed Vegeta. "Right!" Dende ran over to Vegeta, the closest of the three, and began to use his healing powers. The lights came off of Dende's hands and went across Vegeta, but he remained unconscious on the ground.

"What's wrong? Why isn't it working?" Bulma asked as she began to tear up.

"I don't know. This should be working! My healing powers have never failed me before."

"You have to try harder Dende!" Goku said forcefully.

"I am Goku!" Dende then began to pant as he tried even harder to heal Vegeta, but he still remained unconscious.

"I don't get it. This doesn't make sense." Goku muttered to himself. Just then Goku remembered what Bardock had told him earlier. "Injuries don't heal as well. Don't count on magic or a Senzu Bean either." Goku got a horrified look on his face. "This is bad; we have to get them to a hospital immediately!" Goku quickly grabbed Vegeta and put him over his right shoulder. He then hopped over to Future Trunks and put him over his left shoulder. "I'll get these two there, follow behind me as fast as you can with Trunks."

"Right." Bulma said with a determined look. Goku quickly got Vegeta and Future Trunks to the nearest hospital where they were both rushed into the emergency room. Bulma got there surprisingly fast and Kid Trunks was then rushed in as well. Both Goku and Bulma waited impatiently for some word on any of them. After just an hour, a doctor came out.

"Mrs. Briefs." The doctor said formally.

"Yes, that's me." Bulma quickly said.

"I'm doctor En Brok. Well, we have some good news for you. Your boy is alright. He really surprised us all. He just woke up and acted like we were a bother. You've got one tough kid." Bulma breathed a sigh of relief.

"But his face, it was all covered in blood."

"That worried us at first too, but it wasn't his own blood. He just has a bunch of scrapes and bruises. He'll need to take it easy for a bit, but he'll be completely fine otherwise."

"Thank you doctor." Bulma smiled in relief again. Then she remembered Future Trunks and Vegeta. "But wait what about my husband and other son?"

"I'm afraid we're still doing tests and working on them. I can't let you see them yet." Having had many years of experience, Dr. Brok was able to help divert Bulma's attention. "If you want, you can go see your son."

"Yes, I'd like that." Bulma was led to the room where Kid Trunks was. He was sitting up in his bed when she stepped inside. He just waved and said.

"Hi mom." That was Bulma's breaking point. She broke down into tears and hugged Trunks.

"Waaah! Trunks! I thought I lost you."

"I'm fine mom, really. Now can you stop it, you're embarrassing me." Bulma let go of Trunks and pulled a chair up beside his bed. "So mom, any word on dad or my brother?"

"Your brother?"

"Umm, yeah. It's just this little thing we have between us. So anyway, any news?" Bulma shook her head.

"I'm just so relieved that you're okay."

"I'm not okay."

"What?" Bulma began to panic.

"I got beat up. I was too weak to do anything. I'm worthless on my own, I shouldn't have even survived." Bulma got a ticked off look on her face and stood up. With a swift motion, she slapped Trunks right across the face. Trunks sat there silently with a stunned look on his face.

"Don't you ever say that again! Ever! I don't care that you lost, I care that you're alive, so don't ever say that you shouldn't be!" Trunks silently nodded his head up and down. "Now we are going to sit here and wait until they can tell us something about your father or brother!" Trunks lay back down in his bed.

"I'm sorry mom."

"It's okay dear."

Back in the waiting room, Goku paced nervously.

'I hate this.' Goku thought to himself. 'I should have been able to get there sooner. I…' Goku's thoughts of self blame were interrupted as he saw Dr. Brok coming up to him.

"Excuse me sir." Dr. Brok began. "Might I know your relationship to the family?"

"Bulma and me have been friends ever since we were kids."

"I see, well, why don't I tell you first then."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: A Warrior Fades**

Dr. Brok stood in front of Goku fumbling around for the right words to tell him the news about Vegeta and Future Trunks.

"Come on doc." Goku said impatiently. "Just tell me the truth."

"Well alright." Dr. Brok replied. "The Young Man with the purple hair…"

"Trunks."

"Yes, Trunks. His back is incredibly bad. It's a miracle he's even alive and on top of that, he doesn't have any nerve damage."

"Nerve damage?"

"He won't be paralyzed, but it could take him months of rehabilitation before he's better again."

"So he won't be able to fight?"

"Fight? My goodness no! Is that how this happened?"

"Umm, no!" Goku quickly lied. "He was in the big accident downtown. Anyway, what about Vegeta?"

"Ahh, I see the accident. Vegeta? Oh yes, you must mean the other man."

"Yeah, will he be alright?"

"He's exhausted and a little bruised, but otherwise completely fine."

"Great!"

"Except…"

"Except?"

"Yes, except for his arm. His bone was almost completely shattered. The nerves in his left arm were also damaged. He'll never be able to use his left arm again." Goku stood there in shock. "I'm deeply sorry. Would you like me to tell your friend?"

"No." Goku said while still spaced out. "I'll tell her."

"Alright then, I must go see to them."

The day dragged on and Goku told Kid Trunks and Bulma the news. Their reactions were predictable. Despite these unfortunate events, time continued on for the others. After a few days, Vegeta was up and walking around the hospital. His left arm was in a sling and just like the doctor said, completely unusable. Vegeta had gone to visit Future Trunks, who was still stuck in a bed. They hadn't said anything to each other since the fight. This would be their first time.

"Father." Trunks began. "Are you okay?" Vegeta didn't bother to reply and instead just stared out a window. "Dad, you can't keep this silence up forever. Say something to me!"

"I'm worthless now." Trunks didn't respond. "I've spent my whole life fighting and now when the Earth needs strong warriors the most, I lose my left arm. I can't fight anymore. I'm done with it all."

"What are you talking about dad?"

"I'm sick of it all! I'm sick of always taking the back seat, never being important enough to matter."

"That's not true."

"Well it is now!" Vegeta stared down at his left arm. "Your back will heal, my arm never will!" There was some more silence between the two.

"Did I ever tell you about Gohan?"

"I already know about Gohan."

"I mean the Gohan from my time." Vegeta didn't say anything. "He was so much different than this Gohan. This Gohan doesn't want to fight, yet he has so much more power than anyone else. In my time, Gohan was killed by the android."

"I already knew that."

"But I never told you that it was my fault!" Vegeta still didn't respond. "When it was still early in my training with Gohan, I butted in on one of his fights against the androids. He lost his left arm saving my life. Then the next time the androids attacked, me and Gohan were both already there." Trunks paused again.

"And?" Vegeta was showing some interest in the story.

"I was stronger than before and he said that we could fight them together. He knocked me out and went off to fight them alone." Trunks voice started to shake. "When I found him…" Tears began to form in Trunks's eyes. "…he was face down in a puddle. They killed him and I wasn't there to stop them."

"Is there a point to all this?"

"He went and fought a battle he knew he'd lose and he only had one arm. He didn't run away because he lost an arm, are you going to!?"

"Yes, I am."

"Why!?"

"Because I'd just get in the way now!" Vegeta then stormed out of the room.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Vegeta Quits**

"What's the big idea here!?" Vegeta yelled at me. "Making my arm permanently broken!"

"Calm down Vegeta." I replied as I made hand motions for him to settle down. "It's just part of the story, it'll get better, I promise."  
"I don't need this crap Rishnix! I bet your favorite character is Goku, or Gohan, huh!?"

"Actually, Yamcha is my favorite."

"Yeah! Woot!" Yamcha yelled from behind me.

"Well I don't need this!" Vegeta yelled. "I can find work elsewhere. There would be lots of anime and video games that would love to have me."

"Vegeta…" I began to reason with him. "…you know that since the end of GT, fanfics are the only work you guys can find."

"I don't care, I think this script sucks!" Vegeta threw the script down on the ground and stormed out of the studio.

"Well, that's going to create some problems."

"What are we going to do now?" Future Trunks asked me. I pondered his question for a moment.

"Well, we'll just have to continue it without him. Raditz! Head over to wardrobe and get them to prep you for Super Saiyan 3."  
"Fine!" Raditz moaned. "This is going to take forever." He moaned as he walked away.

As I tried to continue my story without Vegeta, he was out looking for work elsewhere.

***

"Look out Vegeta! That Kuwagamon is coming right at you!" Tai yelled.

"Vegeta, digivolve to…" Digimon digivolving music plays "…Super Saiyan Vegeta."

"Nice!" Matt yelled. "He digivolved to the champion level!"

"Final Flash!" Vegeta yelled as he destroyed the Kuwagamon.

"Cut!" The director yelled. "Vegeta! You were supposed to use Galick Gun! Final Flash is a Mega level attack!"

"I've had it with this garbage." Tai said. "I'll be in my trailor."

"Vegeta! You're fired!"

***

"Ah! What's that?" Ash said to himself. "I know, I'll ask Dexter."

"Vegeta, the Saiyan pokemon." The machine replied. "Vegetas are known for their incredible power and violent personalities. Use extreme caution."

"I've got to catch one."

"Vege, Vege, Veg!"

"Pikachu, I choose you! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Piiikaaaachuuuuuuu!"

"Veeeeegggggeeettttaaa! Big Bang Attack!" The Big Bang attack slammed into Pikachu and knocked him down.

"Cut!"

"What's with this amateur!?" Pikachu yelled. "If you're going to play the part of a Pokemon, then you only say your name!"

"Vegeta, you're fired."

***

"Okay, our next audition for the main role is…" The man looked at a clipboard. "…Vegeta. Okay, just go ahead and do the line the best you can."

"Umm, there's nothing written here."

"Link doesn't talk! Get out!"

***

"Colonel, this is Vegeta. Do you read me?"

"Sorry, you're just now what we're looking for."

***

A woman is locked in a small room as the ceiling descends. Just then the door gets busted open. Vegeta grabs her hand and pulls her out just in time.

"Whew. Thanks Vegeta." Jill responded.

"If I had been any later, you'd have been a Jill sandwich." Vegeta paused for a moment.

"Is something wrong?"

"You know what, I just can't do this. Jill sandwich, come on! Give me a call when you get some better writers. I quit."

***

"I was going to take on shades Tugoro myself, but after what happened to the old hag, I'll let you take him." Vegeta said to Yusuke. Bui charges at Vegeta with his giant axe. Vegeta breaks it in half and punches Bui in the face. Bui went flying into the stadium wall and got knocked out.

"Cut!" The director yelled. "Vegeta, this is a match in the Dark Tournament Finals! It needs to be longer and your character is more about speed than power."

"Bui is unconscious!" Tugoro yelled.

"What!? Vegeta, you're fired!"

***

"I'm going to be the next Legendary Super Saiyan! Believe it!" Vegeta yelled.

"Cut! Vegeta, the line is, next Hokage, not Legendary Super Saiyan."

"Oh! Sorry! I'll do it again."

"Actually Vegeta, it's not just the line. I'm just not feeling like you're meant for this part. If the part of Sasuke wasn't already filled, then you could have been him, but…"

"I get it, I'm going."

***

"Yugi, you'll find that your Dark Magician is no match for my newest monster!"

"Bring it on Kaiba!"

"I'll sacrifice my 3 Blue-Eyes White Dragons, to summon…"

"An Egyptian God!"

"No! Vegeta!" Kaiba slammed a card on his duel disk and Vegeta then appeared on the field. "Next I'll equip him with my Spell card, Super Saiyan. Super Saiyan adds attack points to Vegeta equal to my life points!"

"Oh no!"

"Hey Yugi! Joey yelled. "What's Vegeta's attack power now?"

"It's over 9,000!"

"You're finished Yugi!"

"Not so fast Kaiba! I've got a trap card!"

"And cut!" the director yelled. "That's a wrap for today, we'll do the next episode tomorrow." Vegeta ran over to the director.

"Hey, Mr. Director. How was I? Will there be future episodes that I could appear in?"

"You were great Vegeta, but this was just a filler episode and your card will be destroyed at the end of the next one, so you'll never be coming back to the show. Still, make sure you show up for tomorrow's filming though."

"Right." Vegeta said rather disappointed.

***

Meanwhile, I was having some troubles of my own.

"No Jeice!"

"But why not Rishnix?"

"Jeice and the Pussycats. Not in my fanfic!"

"But we can get some catgirls in the band and then we'll go solve a mystery in our van with a giant shark. Then we can meet up with the Harlem Globetrotters and expose a bad guy in a haunted mansion!" I stared at Jeice for a moment. He looked so happy and excited that I just couldn't say no. So I just turned around and ignored him.

"Raditz! Aren't you done with Super Saiyan 3 yet?"

"No!" he yelled back at me. "My hair is already so long, but I still have to go and get extensions put in it and then it needs to be died blonde!" Yamcha then came running up to me.

"Hey Rishnix!" Yamcha began excitedly. "Since I'm your favorite character, can I save the day single handedly against the final, really tough, really badass boss!?"

"Yamcha..."

"Hold on! I'm not finished yet! Then afterwards I get to have a threesome with 18 and Bulma!"

"No! This isn't a Hentai!"

"Then what if me and Raditz fuse into Yanitz?"

"Ugh!"

***

Vegeta walked down the street sighing to himself. "My time is past." He muttered. He then saw Trunk's Time Machine parked along the road. "That's it! I'll go back in time and make sure I don't quit!" Just then Future Trunks came walking out of the studio and saw Vegeta stealing his time machine.

"Wait!" Trunks yelled. But it was too late, Vegeta was gone. "Aww man. I needed to go back in time and put a quarter in the parking meter so I wouldn't get this ticket."

"Isn't that a little too trivial for time travel." I asked him.

"What!? No way! It's a $50 fine!"

Vegeta then appeared in front of me in the time machine. "I changed my mind!" He yelled at me. "I don't quit! I don't care if it is a fanfic, I'll do it."

"That's the spirit! Afterall, it's still better than some rabid fangirl writing you into a Yaoi." Vegeta shuddered.

"Got that right."

"Hey Rishnix!" Yamcha yelled. "We should have a Yuri scene!"

"No! Alright everyone! Now we're back on track. I hope you stick with us for The Real Chapter 24: New Power Achieved. See you there!"

"Hey!" Raditz yelled. "I'm finally ready for my super saiyan 3 scene."  
"It's not happening."

"Damn it!"

**Chapter 24.5: New Power Achieved**

It had been 2 weeks since the day the Mejinn fighters attacked. Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin had all gotten their mystic power-ups from the old Kai. Yamcha got Puar to shape shift into a supermodel so he could take pictures to show the old Kai. Tien found himself having to go see Launch. The blonde hair Launch agreed to the request only if Tien would go out with him a few times and actually try to have a relationship. Krillin did not get pictures of 18. Instead, she saw the old Kai in person, saying that she would show him her boobs. When she got there she shot him with a blast that sent him halfway around the planet. Thankfully, the old Kai was tougher than he looked, or else it would have killed him. After a threat from 18 for some more, the old Kai gave Krillin the mystic power-up. Kid Trunks was completely fine and Future Trunks was even back up and starting his training again, much to the doctors' surprise and against their advice. Vegeta was fully healed with the exception of his left arm, which he could no longer use.

A few days earlier, Vegeta and Bulma had a fight about Vegeta's arm.

"It's useless now!" Vegeta yelled. "I'm just going to rip it off!"

"No you're not!" Bulma yelled right back. "That would be disgusting!"

"Better disgusting than in the way!"

"Better in the way than disgusting!"

In the end, Vegeta did not tear his arm and just let it lie in a sling. Things had only gotten more stressful for Vegeta when he found out that his house had been almost blown up. An ever polite Chi-Chi offered to let the Briefs family stay with them while their house was being fixed. While the two Trunks and Bulma were fine with that, Vegeta was obviously annoyed. He spent most of his time alone in the wilderness and rarely went home.

It then came to when it had been 3 weeks since the attacks. Future Trunks had made a full recovery and his doctor received an award for his miraculous work, despite the quick recovery being because of his saiyan blood. Yamcha and Tien had taken to staying together to train. Though they couldn't become stronger, they were trying to home their skills even further and maybe even develop a new technique. It was shortly after breakfast that the two of them flew out to a deserted island to train; Yamcha in his orange gi and Tien in his blue outfit that he wore against Buu.

"No Yamcha." Tien began. "Like this. Solar Flare!" A blinding white light shot into the air.

"Okay, I'll get it this time." Yamcha responded. "Solar Flare!" Nothing happened. "Aww man! Goku learned how to do this just from seeing you do it. How come I'm having so much trouble with it?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's my fault. I guess I'm not a good teacher. Why don't we forget about that for now and just spar for a little."

"What's the point? We can't get any stronger."

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"Fine." Yamcha and Tien both started stretching. Yamcha finished stretching one of his legs as he asked "You ready?" While still stretching his arm behind his back, Tien replied with.

"Yeah, I think so." They both got into fighting stances. "Let's go." They both charged at each other and clashed. They rapidly exchanged blows with each other, neither one hitting the other.

"It's still hard to believe that we're really this fast; and powerful."

"Yeah, but what the old Kai said made some sense."

Earlier when the old Kai was about to begin the mystic training, the old Kai began with an explanation.

"You see…" he began. "…it isn't that humans aren't strong. They have tremendous potential. The problem is that their progress is slow. It would be impossible for a human to ever reach their full potential in their lifetime. Even the best of them don't come close. This will change that."

Back in the present, Yamcha and Tien continued their conversation while fighting and flying up into the air.

"Yeah." Yamcha said back to Tien. "Who knew we had such potential?"  
"Apparently Dr. Gero did." A completely different voice said.

"Who's there?" Yamcha and Tien both hopped to the side and saw Cooler floating in the air across from them. "Hey, isn't that Frieza?"

"No." Tien answered him. "It must be his brother, Cooler. Now, what do you want here!?" Cooler pointed his fingers at Tien and Yamcha. The two Z-Fighters braced for an attack. Cooler twirled two golden rings, no larger than 3 inches in diameter, on his fingers.

"Tien and Yamcha, right?" Cooler asked. They both nodded. "Cell and Frieza wanted to make their own attacks, but that didn't work. I knew they would both fail, but they had to realize this on their own. Now that they have, we've come up with a plan."

"Keep on the alert Yamcha. We can't sense them, so one might try to sneak up behind us."

"How very clever of you." Turles said as he floated up behind the two. He was the same distance from them as Cooler was. Tien and Yamcha got back to back. Tien was facing Cooler while Yamcha was facing Turles. "Still though, a surprise attack wasn't our goal. Cooler, you can continue if you wish."

"I will." Cooler responded. "You two aren't really our goal. Our objective is to kill Goku and you will help us with that."

"No way!" Yamcha yelled. Turles picked the conversation back up.

"We traveled all over space before we came here to Earth. We stopped at this one planet made entirely of machines. Oh boy was that a dozy of fight. There was this one robot, General Rildo, that gave Cooler quite a few problems, not me though."

"Yeah right." Cooler said. "Anyway, that planet had a lot of cool technology, such as these gold rings. They were made by a man named Dr. Wheelo."

"We didn't know how to use this stuff though." Turles picked the story back up. "But the resurrected Dr. Gero was fascinated by it. He figured it out and even improved it."

"And he got some other things working too."

"Sadly it can only handle someone as powerful as you two."

"What's the point of this whole story!?" Yamcha yelled.

"Yeah. I'm starting to get bored." Tien added. Cooler stopped twirling the rings.

"Your lives belong to us now." Cooler said.

"What happens to them is for us to decide." Turles finished.

"Turles! Catch!" Cooler threw the two rings to Turles. He caught one in each hand. "I'm going to make this quick. I'm going to use my 5th form."

"Aww, you're no fun anymore Cooler. They won't stand a chance against that."

"That's what will make this fun."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: 5****th**** Form Cooler**

Cooler started to yell and power up.

"Yamcha!" Tien yelled. "Don't let him transform!"

"Right!" Yamcha replied. Tien flew at Cooler.

"No you don't!" Turles yelled as he flew forward. Turles attempted to clothesline Yamcha, but Yamcha ducked out of the way. Turles didn't stop though. Tien neared Cooler and prepared to throw a punch. As he did, Turles grabbed his ankle and pulled him back. Tien's punched missed Cooler's nose by an inch. Turles tossed Tien behind him and then got in front of Cooler. "How much time do you need?"

"20 seconds, tops!" Cooler replied.

"I'm on it!" Tien and Yamcha both whirled around and charged at Cooler and Turles. Turles stuck his hands in front of him and a circle of energy appeared in his hands. "Kill Driver!" Tien quickly used his multi-form and split into two. They both went above and in different directions. The circle was steadily growing in size. Yamcha flew through the circle, but as he did Turles shot a blast at him. The blast hit Yamcha and knocked him back.

"Dodon Ray!" one of the Tien yelled. A blast came from above Turles on his left. It was headed directly for Cooler. Turles hopped in front of it and swatted the blast away with his left hand. The other Tien then immediately drop kicked Turles in the face and knocked him away. Tien was about to then kick Cooler, but Turles quickly recovered and punched Tien away from him. Yamcha then came rushing forward and began a melee with Turles. Yamcha knocked Turles's guard away and then hit him repeatedly in the chest. Turles gritted his teeth and hit Yamcha in the back. Yamcha was knocked down and away, but far from finished.

"Now Tien!" Yamcha yelled.

"Spirit Ball!" Out of the corner of his eye Turles saw a Spirit Ball attack coming right at him. He narrowly dodged it, but then another one hit him in the chest. Turles then found two Spirit Balls trying to attack him. He began to dodge them, but then noticed Yamcha was back up and charging a Kamehameha.

"Kamehameha!" Yamcha fired the blast at Cooler. Turles got in front of him and stuck his hands out to brace for the attack. Two Spirit Balls were coming at Turles from the side and a Kamehameha from the front.

'Not good!' Turles thought to himself. But Turles had accomplished his goal. He had bought Cooler enough time. A grate quickly covered Cooler's mouth and he was suddenly in front of Turles. Catching a Spirit Ball in each hand, he then did a flip and smacked the Kamehameha into the ground with his tail. "What took you so long?"

"I thought you wanted to have some fun." Cooler replied. Cooler gripped his hands and the two Spirit Balls were destroyed.

"Before you get started, I want to ask them something. Tien, how do you know the Spirit Ball attack?" Tien smiled.

"Yamcha taught me it. If I use it with my multi-form, then I can have a whole bunch of them going at once. I have to admit though; Yamcha's Spirit Ball is still stronger than mine."

"Impressive." Cooler remarked. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask them?" Turles nodded his head no. "Then they're mine now. Stay out of this." Cooler flew over to one of the Tiens. Tien raised his guard, but Cooler suddenly vanished and appeared behind him. With a quick kick, he sent Tien flying directly into the other Tien. The two Tiens formed back into one and the multi-form had worn off. Yamcha quickly flew over to Tien.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yamcha quickly asked him.

"Yeah." Tien said as he shook his head back and forth. "He's fast though. We'll have to be careful if we're going to beat these two."

"Two?" Cooler remarked. "You're just dealing with me."

Not too far from there, Krillin was flying through the air to meet up with Yamcha and Tien.

"Aw man." Krillin said aloud to himself. "I was supposed to meet up with them over 10 minutes ago. I'm so late." As Krillin flew closer to them he felt a power surge. Krillin smiled to himself and kept flying forward. "Yamcha and Tien must have gotten impatient and started to spar without me. Oh well, that'll just give me the advantage then." Krillin continued flying at his leisurely pace, completely unaware that Tien and Yamcha were not fighting each other.

Cooler glanced at Tien and Yamcha. Without giving any warning he then rushed forward and grabbed both of their heads. He flew right into the ground and slammed their heads hard. Tien and Yamcha's legs flew into the air before they hit the ground with a thud. 'Was all this new power just a waste?' Tien thought to himself.

'He's just too powerful for us.' Yamcha then thought to himself. Cooler lifted their heads into the air and then slammed them into the ground. Again, and again, and again he did this, until Turles came over and yelled at him.

"That's enough Cooler! We need them alive." Turles landed behind them and put the gold rings against their heads. The rings unfolded and spread out. They grabbed onto their heads and looked like veins popping out. "Your lives are ours now." Turles looked up at Cooler. "You can go fetch master Bebidi now, phase one is complete." Cooler stuck his fingers to his forehead and vanished. It was at that moment that Turles felt something behind him. He looked up into the air behind him. There floated a terrified Krillin. "Well now, this just keeps getting better."

"You!" Krllin yelled. "You look just like Goku! But you're not him and you're not his father either. That must mean that you're Turles, an enemy!" Turles floated up into the air and got on eye level with Krillin.

"So what? What are you going to do about it?" Krillin glanced down at Tien and Yamcha.

"What did you do to them?"

"They're still alive, something that you won't be soon enough." Turles charged forward and started rapidly attacking Krillin. Krillin dodged the attacks until he saw an opening and landed a right hook on his face. Turles got knocked back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He then noticed some blood on it. "Why you little punk. That's it! I'm going to show you my real power and stomp you flat!"

"You'll do no such thing Turles!" Bebidi yelled from behind him. Cooler was already back with Bebidi.

"But master Bebidi!" Turles looked down at Bebidi. Bebidi glared at him and Turles began to shake a little. "Okay. I'll back off."

"That's good Turles. Yoo hoo! You up there! Would you mind coming down here I'm afraid I don't know how to fly."

'This could be my chance.' Krillin thought to himself. 'If I get close enough to them I could grab Yamcha and Tien and make a break for it.' Krillin flew down and landed about 10 feet from Bebidi. Turles than landed beside Bebidi and went over to sit on a large rock. Tien and Yamcha were halfway between Krillin and Bebidi. 'They're still moving, so at least they're not dead.'

"Ahem. I am Bebidi. You are Krillin, I presume?"

"That's right. We know all about you guys, including what Mejinn power does."

"Well then, I have a favor to ask you. Would you please go get Goku and bring him here? I have an opponent or 2 lined up for him that I know he would just love to fight." Krillin smiled to himself.

"So, you guys are out to kill us all, and you're going to let me go so I can go get Goku to fight you? You guys are a lot dumber than I ever thought you were." Bebidi smiled. "Fine, I'll go get him, but it'll be your funeral." Krillin turned around, but then quickly doubled back and made a dash for Tien and Yamcha. He grabbed their arms and took off into the air. "I've got you guys! And we're getting out of here, so hold on!" Tien and Yamcha shook their wrists free and just stared at Krillin. "What are you guys doing!? We've got to go, now!" Krillin looked down at the ground, but Bebidi, Cooler, and Turles, still hadn't made a move.

"Go get Goku." Yamcha said.

"Now." Tien then added. Something about the voices and the whole situation struck Krillin as odd, so he just gave a nod. Krillin then turned around and headed for Goku.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Goku's Oldest Enemies**

Vegeta was lying on the roof of Goku's house. The sun was shining brightly, there was a light breeze, and nearby birds could be heard chirping. Vegeta had his right arm behind his head and had actually managed to fall asleep. But his nap was soon interrupted by a shadow over his eyes. Vegteta's eyes squinted and then opened. Above him was Goku, staring at him with one of those blank stares of his. Vegeta scowled.

"What do you want Kakarot?"

"I'm bored Vegeta." Goku responded. "Come on, spar with me."

"Hmph, no thanks." Vegeta then rolled onto his side and put his back to Goku. Goku hopped over Vegeta and crouched down so his face was only inches from Vegeta's.

"Spar with me."

"Grr, you're like a little kid! Leave me alone!"

"So you're serious Vegeta, you're really never going to fight again?"

"That's right! Now get lost!"

"You know we can just use the dragonballs to fix your arm, right?"

"Of course I do, but…"

"But what?" Vegeta thought about his fight with Zarbon before Frieza and how he refused to transform and got worn out because of it.

"Never mind."

"I bet you'll regret it sometime." Goku turned around to leave.

"Well…" Goku's eyes lit up and he turned back around. "…I was working on a new move, but I'll never get to use it now. It was going to make the Final Flash look like a joke."

"I bet it still wouldn't compare to my Kamehameha."

"Your Kamehameha? You learned that from the old hermit. Come to think of it, have you ever even come up with your own move?"

"Sure I have. I've got the Kaio-Ken, Spirit Bomb, Instant Transmission."

"All of which you learned from someone else, even Gohan came up with the Masenko. Can't you come up with something?" Goku pondered it for a moment.

"Well, gee, I guess you're right. Okay then, I'll go invent a move all on my own." At that moment Krillin landed on the roof. His look was serious. "Hey Krillin!"

"Goku, we've got a problem." Krillin stated. "Yamcha and Tien are in trouble. You have to come with me immediately."

"Okay! Vegeta, why don't you come too?"

"No!" Vegeta yelled. "Just go already, you're needed, I'm not."

"Come on Goku!" Krillin yelled. "We've got to get going now; Tien and Yamcha were acting really strange." Goku glanced back at Vegeta.

"Okay, let's go Krillin." Goku and Krillin took off into the air and headed back for the area in which Krillin had come from. As they were flying along, Krillin told Goku about the strange way Tien and Yamcha were acting. They then reached the area and landed. Cooler, still in his 5th form, was talking to Tien and Yamcha with his back to Krillin and Goku.

"And that's how you do it. Understand?" Cooler said to Tien and Yamcha. "Oh, he's arrived." Cooler turned around to greet Goku and the grate across his mouth vanished. "Goku, I'm glad you showed up."

"Cooler? Is that you?"

"Oh yeah, you hadn't seen my true power. I can go toe to toe with you in this form."

"Then let's get started."

"I'm not your opponent." Tien and Yamcha hopped forward.

"We are." Tien said. Goku got a confused, but still serious look on his face.

"What did you do to them!?" Goku yelled at Cooler.

"What did you do to us is a better question Goku." Yamcha said. "Before I met you, I was the desert bandit. I was feared so much that anyone who knew my name would travel 100 miles to stay out of my way. You ruined that."

"I was going to be the perfect assassin." Tien started saying. "I was on my way to being completely cold and ruthless. But then you came along and changed that."

"You made us weak."

"And we were your first serious enemies. But now you don't think a thing of us."

"That's not true!" Goku yelled. "I've always had a ton of respect for you two as martial artists."

"Enough!"

"He's right Goku." Yamcha said. "We've had enough." Yamcha and Tien turned around and faced Bebidi. "Bebidi, we offer you our services, and swear our loyalty to you."

"Master, please gift us with the power of Mejinn."  
"Stop it you two!" Goku yelled.

"Yeah!" Krillin chimed in. "It won't do you any good. You already have the mystic power; you can't even get any stronger!"

"That's not true." Bebidi said.

"What!?"

"Now bear witness to the awesome power of Mejinn!" Bebidi stuck his hand out and two black beams of light shot out of it. They surrounded Tien and Yamcha with a dark black aura and their power started to go even higher.

"How is this possible?"

"I don't know." Goku responded to Krillin. "King Kai! Supreme Kai! Old Kai! Any of you! I need to speak to you right now!"

"I'm here Goku." King Kai responded to him telepathically.

"We're here too." Kibitoshen responded. Goku quickly began his explanation.

"Tien and Yamcha have joined up with Bebidi. I don't know why, but it looks like I'm going to have to fight them."

"This is terrible! Why would they do such a thing?"

"I don't know, but what's even weirder is that the Mejinn power is actually making them stronger. I thought that was impossible for someone who has received the mystic ability from the old Kai."

"What? No way! Ancestor! Do you have an explanation for this?" The old Kai pondered the situation.

"Goku." King Kai started. "I'm paying attention with my antennae, and I'm feeling something really strange."

"What is it King Kai?" Goku asked.

"Now I know I've felt this kind of energy somewhere before. That's it! I know what it is! It's mind control!"

"It can't be that, Mejinn power is supposed to only work if they willingly submit. It can't force them against their will."

"I know that, but imagine if someone's will is being manipulated. The person is still making the choice themselves, but they are really being guided to that choice by something else."

"They're being manipulated, I got that much, but do you know how?"

"Hmm, the weird energy is strongest at the top of Tien and Yamcha's heads. Is there anything weird there?"

"Yes! There is!" Krillin yelled. He had put his hand on Goku and was listening in the whole time; much like others often did by putting their hand on King Kai's back. "They have some strange gold metal thing spread over their heads! Like vines or roots."

"That must be it. Goku, if you can destroy those things, then they'll no doubt return to their normal selves."

"Right!" Goku responded.

"Goku." The old Kai began. "I've figured it out. There is one way that it's possible."

"I'm listening."

"My mystic ability takes a person to their absolute limit that they can safely endure. This Mejinn power is pushing them beyond it and that is seriously dangerous."

"What do you mean old Kai?"

"I mean that if they keep the Mejinn power for too long then they could have a stroke or a heart attack or something else really bad could happen. That rotten Bebidi likely knows this and is doing it because he doesn't care if they live or not."

"Do you know how much time I have to save them?"

"I can't be certain, but I bet you don't even have an hour. It's probably more like 40 minutes. Do you think you can do it in time Goku?" Goku narrowed his eyes.

"I'll try." The black auras finally vanished around Tien and Yamcha. They both looked back at Goku and smiled. Yamcha then rolled up his left sleeve and showed them the M on his arm.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Yamcha said. Krillin took his hand off of Goku's leg and stared directly ahead.

"Be careful Goku." Krillin began. "All 3 of us were at the level of Ultra Super Saiyans, but now those two are at the levels of a Super Saiyan 2."

"I know Krillin…" Goku said back to him. "…and that's why I want you to leave."

"What?"

"Krillin, I don't want you getting hurt. So leave now while you still can." Krillin was silent for a moment.

"No."

"Huh?" Goku looked down at Krillin, obviously confused by his response.

"Goku, they're my friends too and I won't abandon them. I know I'm the weak one here, but I'm used to that being the case, so umm really, I have the advantage. You see?" Goku smiled at Krillin.

"Krillin." He then looked back ahead at Tien and Yamcha. "Okay, you can stay, but stick to the sidelines and only jump in if things are looking really bad."

"Right!" Goku then started walking forward. Tien and Yamcha both had their arms crossed and were staring at Goku with evil grins.

"Tien! Yamcha! I will save you!"


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Surprises**

Goku stared at Tien and Yamcha a little while longer. He had his serious fighting look on. Tien and Yamcha were still smiling.

"Yah!" Goku yelled as he powered directly up to Super Saiyan 2.

"What's wrong Goku?" Tien said. "Aren't you going to study our moves in a lower form first?" Goku smiled back at them.

"Don't need to." Goku flew forward and hit Tien in the face with a right punch. He then immediately spun and slammed the back of his left foot into Yamcha's face. Both of them were knocked to the ground. They both got up and scowled at Goku. "Don't worry guys; I'll knock you back to your senses." Tien and Yamcha both growled.

"Wolf Fang Fist!" Yamcha yelled as he leapt at Goku with a clawed right hand. Goku stepped to his left and dodged the attack. He then hit Yamcha in the gut with his right knee. At that same time, Tien had charged forward with a punch of his own. Goku caught Tien's wrist and used his momentum to spin around and slam him into Yamcha, who was still in mid-air from Goku's knee to the gut.

"Wow!" Krillin exclaimed from the sidelines. "Goku's taking care of them easily!" Yamcha and Tien skidded across the ground with Tien on top of Yamcha. They both got up and were growling again. They then both charged forward and started a melee with Goku. "I can barely keep track of them." Goku was continuing to dodge their attacks and then saw an opening. He quickly delivered a right backhand to Yamcha's face and a left front kick to Tien's jaw. Both of them backed off again.

"Deal with this Goku. Spirit Ball!" Yamcha formed a Spirit Ball in his hand and flung it at Goku. Tien quickly flew off at an arc to attack Goku from his left side. When the Spirit Ball reached Goku, he smacked it away with his right hand. The Spirit Ball flew out of control and hit Tien right in the face. "What!?" Yamcha looked over at Tien flying backwards from his Spirit Ball. He turned back to Goku, but he was already charging right at Yamcha. Goku flew past Yamcha and as he did he delivered a fierce left kick to Yamcha's gut. Yamcha fell to his knees clutching his gut.

"Nice one Goku!"

"The two of you…" Goku began. "…have the power of a brand new Super Saiyan 2. But don't go thinking that it's anywhere near my Super Saiyan 2 form. Don't tell me you're surprised?"

"Oh my." Bebidi said. "I didn't expect them to win, but I didn't think that they'd do this bad."

"It's okay." Cooler said. "They just need a little advice." Yamcha pulled himself up to his feet, gasping for air. Tien also stumble up to his feet, some blood running down his nose. "Hey you two!" Tien and Yamcha both looked over at Cooler. "Remember what I taught you while we were waiting for Goku." Yamcha and Tien both gave a nod. "It's time for that." Then they both smiled and Yamcha hopped over to Tien. He landed about five feet away from him.

"Goku!" Tien and Yamcha both said in unison. "Recognize this?" Tien and Yamcha both stuck their arms out away from each other.

"What?" Goku said to himself.

"Fuuuu…" Tien and Yamcha started taking the small steps towards each other.

"Ah!" Goku said in surprise.

"…sion." Their arms quickly shot back to their original position.

"No!" Goku yelled as he dashed towards them.

"Ha!" Tien and Yamcha's arms went towards each other and their fingertips connected. A bright white light engulfed the two figures.

"No way!" Krillin yelled in disbelief. "They did a Fusion Dance!"

"Oh no!" Kibitoshen said up on his planet. "This is terrible!"

"Calm down now my boy." The old Kai responded. "They may have messed it up."

"That's right! Then Goku would definitely have the advantage."

'This is bad!' Goku thought to himself. 'They just executed a perfect fusion dance.' The bright light faded, and where there had previously been Tien and Yamcha, there was now just one person who was neither Tien nor Yamcha. This new being had Yamcha's spiked hair, but it only went around the outside of his head, as if he were balding. There was also a 3rd eye on his forehead and his clothes were the same of everyone that fused using the dance. The gold metal object that was atop both of their heads was now gone, but the mark of Mejinn still existed on his left arm. The new figure stared at Goku and smiled. He turned sideways to Goku and put his right fist in front of his chest. He then clasped his left hand over it. He turned his head and faced Goku. He was smiling at Goku. "So, you got a name?" The fused being flew towards Goku. Before Goku even knew what was happening, he had been hit with a right elbow to his face. Goku went flying backwards and broke through a thick tree before slamming into an even thicker one and falling to the ground. The fused being smiled even more, except this time he showed some of his teeth.

"Tiencha." Suddenly there was an explosion from where Goku was and he came walking towards Tiencha. Goku was clearly pissed off. His aura flared around him as the lightning around him crackled even more and shot around him even more frequently than normal. Goku continued walking forward and stopped a foot from Tiencha. Tiencha was close to a head taller than Goku, so he had to stare down at Goku. Goku looked up at him in his eyes. They both stood there silently as their auras clashed with each other. After about ten seconds they both took off into the air, rapidly exchanging blows with each other.

"Okay." The old Kai said to Kibitoshen. "They didn't mess up the fusion." Kibitoshen looked at him inquisitively, as if waiting to hear what his new plan would be. "Now you can panic."

"Aaaah!" Kibitoshen yelled as he grabbed his head with his hands. Meanwhile, Tiencha and Goku continued to fight.

"Yah!" Goku yelled as he stuck his hand out and attempted to push Tiencha back with an invisible ki blast. Tiencha stuck his own hand out and did the same thing to Goku. Tiencha didn't move except for the hair on his head blew backwards. Goku went somersaulting backwards in the air. Goku charged back forward and started rapidly attacking Tiencha. Tiencha dodged a flurry of punches from Goku.

"You can do better than that Goku!" Tiencha yelled as he blocked a punch and then began pummeling Goku in the chest. Tiencha then hit Goku with a right hook and sent him backwards. "You won't be able to keep up with me in your Super Saiyan 2 form Goku. You better go to 3." Goku was breathing deeply as Tiencha said this. "Don't tell me you're surprised."

"Goku!" Krillin yelled from the ground. "You've got go Super Saiyan 3 against him! There's no other way!"

"See, even Krillin agrees."

"Damn you…" Goku hissed.

"Yes! That's right Goku! Curse me, hate me! Bring back our rivalry!" Tiencha's smile became its biggest yet.

"Damn you, Bebidi!" For the first time since he fused, Tiencha stopped smiling. Tiencha stared blankly at Goku. "You'll pay for this Bebidi!" Tiencha then started scowling.

"Even now you disrespect us." Tiencha muttered to himself. "Stop yelling at him! He's not your opponent! We are! Now transform and face us or die!"

"Yaaaaahhhhhh!" Goku yelled in pure rage. As he did his hair grew longer and his eyebrows vanished. He transformed into a Super Saiyan 3, but continued growling through his teeth.

"Yes, that's it. Get angry and give us your best! Try to put an end to us, and prove that you do respect us!"

"Yaaaaahhhhh!" Goku charged forwards at Tiencha and the smile returned to Tiencha's face, but a bead of sweat also went down his cheek.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Tiencha's Moves**

"Yaaaaaaahhhh!" Goku threw a fierce punch at Tiencha. Tiencha, though expecting Goku's attack to be fierce, was still surprised by it. Tiencha raised his arms for a cross block and Goku's fist hit them right in the center. Goku then punched at Tiencha's arms again, this time with his left arm. Tiencha's guard still held. Goku continued hitting his arms with alternating punches. Every time they hit, Tiencha shook a little. Goku then pulled his right arm back far. "Yaaaahhh!" With another fierce yell, he punched forward, but this time, he broke through Tiencha's guard. Tiencha's arms were knocked down and Goku started to rapidly pummel him. Tiencha seemed helpless against Goku's furious onslaught as he was hit by one attack after another. Goku then raised his arms above his head and did a double hand smash to Tiencha's head. Tiencha went hurtling towards the ground and slammed hard into the Earth. Goku went flying down at full speed in a drop kick. Right before it hit though, Tiencha rolled out of the way and did several back flips to get away from Goku. Tiencha stopped about 15 feet away from Goku. Goku stood there breathing heavily while Tiencha also took a moment to breath in deep.

"Good Goku." Tiencha said to him. "We can tell you aren't holding back. You really do respect us as a fighter."

"Of course… I do… I always… have." Goku said between breaths. Goku took a deep breath and stopped panting. "But I'm still going to have to beat you."

"Goku, I've got moves you've never even dreamed were possible. Remember, I take the best of Yamcha and Tien, combine it, and make it even better."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"Well, why don't I give this new move a try?" Tiencha stuck his hands behind him as if he was about to do a Kamehameha, but his hands were fists, except for his two pointer fingers which were extended. A yellow glow started to form between his fingers. Tiencha started smiling again. He then stuck his hands out in front of him, with his two fingers coming together. "Dodohameha!" A thin yellow beam shot out towards Goku. It was aimed right at his head. As the beam was about to hit Goku, he leaned his head to the right and it went past him. Goku moved his head back and Tiencha went back to standing normally.

"I see. You combined Tien's Dodon Ray with Yamcha's Kamehameha. It looks neat, but it's no better than either one of them." Tiencha cracked another smile. Goku then smiled back. "I get it; you were just showing off, weren't you."

"Guilty as charged. That move isn't impressive, it's just meant to show you what I'm capable of. But…" Tiencha slid back onto his back leg and raised his hands up with his fingers spread out like claws. "…this next move isn't just for show. So be careful."

"Thanks. I will." Goku examined the stance that Tiencha had taken. 'He looks like he's getting ready to do a Wolf Fang Fist, but he's probably got some sort of twist added to it now.' The tips of Tiencha's fingers glowed faintly white.

"Here we come!" Tiencha started running forward. "Wolf Flare Fist!" Tiencha aimed for Goku's face, but Goku stepped to the side and his hand missed his face by inches. Goku was about to counter back, but then there was suddenly a bright flash and Goku could hardly see. Goku took a blind swing at Tiencha, but missed. Tiencha then immediately kicked Goku in the side. Goku stumbled back and looked back at Tiencha. His blindness was already gone and he saw Tiencha coming at him with another attack. His fingertips glowed a bright white.

'He's combined the Solar Flare with the Wolf Fang Fist!' Goku quickly thought to himself. Goku saw the next attack coming and raised his left arm to block it. Goku quickly found himself getting hit in the face. He stumbled back again. Tiencha let up for a moment. Goku stared menacingly at Tiencha.

"I can tell by that look in your eyes that you've figured out what my move is, but have you figured out a way to counter it?" Goku raised his guard again. "No, you haven't, have you? There is no defense from my Wolf Flare Fist! The Wolf Fang Fist is coated with a Solar Flare, so even if you dodge the attack, you're left temporarily blinded. Blocking the attack doesn't work either. The Flare surrounds the fist as it moves and makes it so you can't tell exactly where the attack is coming from. You have a general idea, but it can still barely scrape by a defense you put up."

"I know that!" Goku yelled in frustration.

"I can probably beat you with that, but…" Tiencha trailed off. He looked up at the sky with a blank stare. He then flew up into the sky so that he was a decent distance above the trees. Goku followed him into the air.

'Just keep talking like this! You're only wasting your fusion time.' "But what?"

"I just wanted to show you this move in the air, that's all." Tiencha then started flying in a circle around Goku. He was moving so quickly that he was leaving a constant stream of afterimages. To Goku, it looked like there were 4 Tiencha around him. "What's wrong Goku; can't you tell which one is me?"

"Sure I can." Goku said confidently. He put his hands behind him and began to power up a Kamehameha. "You're right there." Goku turned to the Tiencha image on his right and stuck his hands out. The images stopped appearing blurry and Tiencha was in front of Goku.

"You're only a quarter right." The Tiencha in front of Goku put his arms up to block, but suddenly the 3 other afterimages leapt at Goku. Goku was about to be hit when he vanished and appeared behind them all.

"Kamehameha!" Goku fired the blast and hit all 4 of the Tiencha. The smoke cleared and the 4 Tiencha were floating there annoyed. "I knew that you were trying to lure me into attack one of your afterimages so you could try and get the drop on me. But there were no afterimages! You started off moving real fast and creating them, but while you were doing that, you also used your multi-form. That way I would attack one and get hit by the other 3. But you didn't count of me being ready to do a Warp Kamehameha!"

"Very nice Goku, but that wasn't the real move. That was just another little trick, like the Dodohameha."

"It seems all you can do is cheap tricks. That Wolf Flare Fist has some potential, but it seems to me like that's all you got."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah." Goku replied smugly. The 4 Tiencha went in different directions.

"Tri Spirit Ball!" One of the Tiencha stuck both his hands out and a Spirit Ball formed in each one. A third one then appeared in front of his third eye. He threw all 3 of them at Goku.

"Three Spirit Balls at once!" Goku yelled in surprise as he narrowly dodged all three of them.

"No! Not three, twelve!" Each of the other Tiencha's then repeated the technique and threw their Spirit Balls at Goku as well. Goku quickly found himself swarmed by 12 Spirit Balls. Goku frantically moved about in every direction he could, trying to dodge them. He weaved in and out with absolute focus, dodging each of them by only millimeters. Goku had been keeping it up for almost 10 minutes, when one of them finally hit him square in the back. After that, the rest of them all started to hit him. Goku was knocked around like a rag doll by the dozen Spirit Balls. He couldn't move and he couldn't dodge anymore. "I knew you'd tire eventually Goku."

'No, I can't give up. I have to save them!' "Yaaaahhhh!" Goku stuck his arms out and was suddenly surrounded by an energy field. The Spirit Balls all collided with the sphere of energy surrounding Goku.

"Not bad Goku, but how long can you keep it up? And besides that, if you want to beat me, then you'll have to attack."

"I plan to!" Goku then vanished from inside the sphere and the Spirit Balls all crashed into each other. Goku reappeared behind one of the Tiencha and kicked him hard into the mess of Spirit Balls. He the warped behind the others and did the same to each of them before the first one even hit the center. The Tiencha all smashed into their own Spirit Balls before finally hitting each other. The Spirit Balls vanished and a lone Tiencha was left there. He was bruised and obviously dazed. It was the perfect time for Goku to attack him, but instead, he landed on the ground beside Krillin. Goku fell back onto his butt and started panting.

"Goku!" Krillin began. "What's wrong with you? Now is the perfect time to attack him."

"I can't Krillin." Goku was still panting. "I'm just too tired. There no way I can keep this up." Goku then fell onto his back.

"Goku! No! You gotta get back up!" Krillin said as he began to shake him.

"I just need a minute to rest."

"We don't have a minute, but we do have this." Krillin reached into his pocket and pulled out a Senzu bean.

"It won't work. He's a Mejinn fighter that means that wounds have to heal naturally."

"I know that, but are you really wounded."

"What do you mean?"

"Did his attacks really wear you out that bad or is just being in this Super Saiyan 3 form for so long that's got you worn out?" Goku closed his eyes and thought about it.

"I don't know. What are you getting at Krillin?"

"I have a theory. This Senzu Bean might not make you perfect, but it might restore that energy that you yourself used up."

"Oh, I get it Krillin. I'm exhausted because of my Super Saiyan 3 form, not because of his Mejinn attacks."

"Exactly! So take the bean, it's bound to help somewhat."

"Can't."

"Well why not?"

"It wouldn't be fair; he doesn't have a Senzu bean." Krillin lost it at that point. He grabbed his hair and was about to make himself bald again when he got an idea.

"That's true Goku, but this fight hasn't been fair to begin with. Tiencha is a fused being, you're not. I'd hardly call that fair." Goku thought about it for a little.

"Hey! You're right." Krillin saw that he was finally getting through to Goku.

"Of course I am! Just think of it as an extra you. You used one of you, now the Senzu bean it like the second you. It's the only way this match can be completely fair. Besides, if you really do respect Tien and Yamcha, then you'll give them a fair match like this."

"Okay Krillin, I'll eat the bean."

"Alright!" Krillin yelled as Goku grabbed the bean and stuck it in his mouth.

"Goku! Krillin!" King Kai yelled to them from up on his planet. "You might want to hurry it up. Tiencha isn't dazed anymore!"

"Goku, you stay put. I'll hold him off until the Senzu bean fully kicks in." Krillin flew up into the air and stopped in front of Tiencha. "Hey! Tiencha! How about you give me a try now?"

"Krillin?" Tiencha said confused. He then started to laugh. "You can't possibly take us on as we are now."

"Oh, I get it. You're scared. Well I would be too if I had to face me."

"Fine Krillin, I'll play with you for a little bit, but not too long. I need to get back to Goku." Krillin got into a fighting stance.

'I don't know how long it'll take for the Senzu bean to work with that Mejinn power interfering, but it shouldn't take too long.' "One minute, that's all I need."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: For the sake of Krillin**

Earlier in the day, up on Dende's lookout, Piccolo had continued to train Bardock. Piccolo and Bardock were sitting on the lookout beside each other. They both had their legs crossed and eyes closed. Raditz was hopping around the lookout and throwing punches into the air. He had finished his energy sensing training, and had moved onto regular training. Bardock's eyebrow began to twitch and a scowl formed on his face. "How much longer…" Bardock started. "…do we have to keep up this stupid meditation?"

"Until you can control your psychic powers." Piccolo answered back. Bardock stood up and faced the calm Namekian.

"I can't control them!" Piccolo opened his eyes.

"That's why I'm training you. If you can control your ability to see the future, then you'd have the potential to be our most important fighter."

"What do you expect me to do!?" Bardock started pacing back and forth and he continued his rant. Raditz had stopped his training and begun to watch his father complain. "It's been 3 weeks of this stupid meditation training and I haven't had a single useful vision!"

"Then we'll keep trying."

"Sure, sure. I'll just sit down and think about Kakarot, and prince Vegeta; my grandsons Gohan and Goten. Maybe I should think of all of my son's friends too while I'm at it. What are their names?"

"Tien, Yamcha, and…"

"Krillin."

"Yeah, that's right." Piccolo looked up at Bardock when he didn't continue with his rant. Bardock had a blank stare on his face. "Hey, are you okay?" Bardock didn't answer. Piccolo stood up. "Bardock!" Raditz went racing over as well.

"Father!" Raditz yelled. Bardock blinked his eyes and started looking around. "Dad, what happened to you just now?"

"Yeah Bardock." Piccolo chimed in. "You looked like your mind was somewhere else." Bardock started looking around himself. He then pointed his finger in a direction.

"There!" Bardock said confidently. "Krillin, he's going to need your help."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! Now get going before it's too late!" Piccolo took off in the direction that Bardock had pointed.

"I'll go too." Raditz said as he prepared to fly after him.

"No!" Bardock yelled at him.

"Why not!? I'm much stronger now than I was before!"

"Don't you dare go." Raditz scowled at his father and floated into the air. Bardock quickly grabbed his foot. "Raditz." Raditz floated back down to the ground.

"What did you see?"

"I saw you and Piccolo saving Krillin's life, but then you were killed." Raditz thought about what his father said for a moment.

"So if I stay here, I won't die, right?" Bardock nodded his head yes. "But if I go, the short man will live."

"Piccolo alone may be enough to save him." Raditz stared at Bardock in the eyes.

"What kind of brother would I be, if I let my little brother's best friend die? I think this is what Kakarot meant by being a good big brother." Raditz turned his back to Bardock and took off after Piccolo.

"Raditz." Mr. Popo and Dende walked over to Bardock.

"You did all you could." Mr. Popo said to him.

"No, not yet I haven't."

Back in the present, Krillin stood in a fighting stance, trying to stare down Tiencha. "Well?" Tiencha asked impatiently. "Are you going to attack or should I?" Krillin charged forward and started attacking Tiencha as quickly as he could. Krillin frantically lashed out at him as the two went around in a circle in midair. Tiencha dodged all of the attacks, but wasn't launching any of his own. Suddenly, Tiencha stopped dodging and Krillin landed a punch directly on his chest. A stunned Krillin left his fist against Tiencha's chest.

"I, hit him?" Krillin said confused. Krillin looked up at Tiencha's face. He was completely unfazed by it.

"I got sick of dodging." Before Krillin could think anything else, Tiencha punched him across the face and Krillin was lying in a crater on the ground. Tiencha flew down and stood in front of Krillin. "What were you thinking Krillin?" Krillin struggled up to his feet and while gasping for air, put his guard back up. Krillin opened his mouth up to say something, but then changed his mind and didn't say a thing. "Tri-Spirit Ball!" Tiencha quickly formed 3 Spirit Balls and launched them at Krillin. Krillin crossed his arms in front of him as he saw the attack forming. The first Spirit Ball hit his arms and broke his guard. The second slammed him in the face, while the third hit his feet and knocked him onto his chest. "I'll crush your skull with this next attack." Tiencha charged forward towards Krillin. His fist raised in the air, poised to strike. Things seemed to slow down as Krillin thought then, that or his thoughts sped up.

'All I wanted was to help out.' Krillin's eyes glanced over at Goku who was still on the ground. 'I wanted to be able to help out, so badly. To prove I'm not worthless. Just do something, anything other than run away. Just buying Goku some time would have been enough, but I couldn't even do that.' Tiencha was even closer now. He threw a punch down at Krillin's head. It had enough force behind it so that a hit would shatter Krillin's skull. 'I'm so sorry everyone.'


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Weak Saiyans and a Namek**

Tiencha threw his punch at Krillin's head. Right as it was about to hit, someone slammed into Tiencha and knocked him to the ground. It was none other than Piccolo. He had made it just in time to save Krillin's life. Piccolo was now on top of Tiencha.

"I don't know who you are." Piccolo began as he slammed his arm into Tiencha's neck. "But you're going down!" Piccolo put more pressure against Tiencha's neck. Tiencha grabbed Piccolo's neck with his left. He then tossed Piccolo off of him, but didn't let go of his neck. Tiencha stood up and lifted Piccolo into the air.

"Tiencha." Tiencha said to Piccolo. Piccolo grasped at Tiencha's fingers. He tried desperately to loosen them, but had no luck. Tiencha then punched a hole in Piccolo's stomach with his right hand. Piccolo could only gasp as Tiencha did this. "That's my name. Now get away from me." Tiencha tossed Piccolo off to the side. "I'll kill you now, and then I'll take care of Krillin."

"No."

"Hmm?" Tiencha looked over to where the voice had come from. Krillin was back on his feet. He was panting heavily and blood covered his face. "No? No, I don't think so." Krillin put his hands behind them and a blue ball of energy begun to form. Krillin shot his Kamehameha at Tiencha. It hit him directly in the chest, but had no effect.

"Aww man." Krillin said as he collapsed to his knees.

"Just what did you think it would do?" Tiencha appeared behind Krillin and kicked him in the back of his head. Krillin's head slammed into the ground and bounced back up before resting on the ground again. "Krillin, if you hadn't done that Kamehameha you'd be dead by now, and you wouldn't have had to suffer as much." Tiencha put his fingers together behind him and powered up a Dodohameha. "I respect your courage, but that…"

"Double Sunday!" Tiencha was cut off as a huge blast hit him. Dirt flew up into the air around him. About a hundred feet away, Raditz floated in the air. He was breathing heavily from his last attack. "You didn't expect that!" Raditz said with a smile. The dust settled and Tiencha's gaze had shifted to Raditz.

"Fine then, this blast can belong to you! Dodohameha!" Tiencha pivoted on his feet and launched the blast at Raditz. Despite his recent training, Raditz was still far outclassed by Tiencha. The blast neared closer and threatened to vaporize him, when a blue ball energy hit Raditz in the back from above. Raditz was knocked down just as the blast went over him. Raditz hit the ground hard, but quickly got back to his feet. He looked behind him and saw Bardock floating in the air.

"What the hell are you doing dad!?" Raditz yelled at his father. Bardock landed beside him with a frown on his face.

"I'm saving your life you ungrateful bastard." Bardock said to him.

"You know it's your fault that I'm a bastard, not mine."

"In my vision, I wasn't here. Just me being here is proof enough that the future in my visions can be changed."

"How sweet." Tiencha said. Bardock and Raditz looked over at Tiencha just in time to see a Spirit Ball heading for them. They both hopped away from it and it passed between them. They both they turned their attention to the Spirit Ball that had just passed by them. As they did though, two more Spirit Balls came flying at them and hit them both in the back. Bardock and Raditz were both knocked to the ground.

"That hurt..." Raditz muttered out. "..a lot."

"Yeah." Bardock cringed in agreement. Tiencha flew over to the two downed saiyans and grabbed each of their legs. He then flew back over to Krillin and tossed the two downed saiyans beside him. He then grabbed Piccolo and threw him next to the other three.

"I've decided…" Tiencha began. "…that it would just make more sense to kill all of you at once." Tiencha put his hands above his head and began to power up a blast. "Goodbye every…" Tiencha was once again interrupted as a fist connected with his cheek. Tiencha slid several feet backwards across the ground, but still stood upright. In front of him was Goku in his base form.

"This is our fight Tiencha, so leave them out of this!"

"They interfered."

"Well they won't anymore. You just wait right there." Goku flung Raditz and Bardock on top of his shoulders. He then picked up Krillin and carried him under his left arm. He put his foot on top of Piccolo's shoulder. Goku then put his two right fingers to his forehead. He used Instant Transmission and vanished from his sight. Goku reappeared with his four fallen comrades atop the Lookout. He was right next to Dende and Mr. Popo.

"Oh no! What happened Goku?" Dende asked worriedly. Goku put down Krillin, Raditz, and Bardock and looked directly at Dende.

"I can't stay, it's not over yet. These are Mejinn injuries they have, but still try to help them in any way you can."

"Right Goku." And with that, Goku was gone again.

Back on the battlefield, Tiencha stood patiently. On the sidelines, Cooler turned to talk to Bebidi. "Do you think I should have stopped him?"

"Huh?" Bebidi asked.

"Goku, I could have stopped him from saving his friends. Should I have?"

"Don't worry about it. They aren't the important ones. I'm more concerned if Goku will even come back."

"He's a saiyan." Turles said. "He'll definitely be back." At that moment Goku reappeared in front of Tiencha. "Just like I told you." Tiencha started another conversation with Goku.

"That Senzu bean must not have done much for you Goku. You had to hit me in your regular form."

"You're wrong. Krillin was right and that Senzu bean helped me a whole bunch. I'm not back at full power, but I've got at least half my power back."

"Only half?"

"Well, it could be more than that, but I never was good with fractions." Tiencha laughed at Goku.

"Fair enough Goku! Now let's get to it, time's a wasting."

"It sure is." Goku then powered up to Super Saiyan, followed quickly by Super Saiyan 2, and then immediately into his Super Saiyan 3 form.

"Goku." King Kai said to him from inside his head. "Tiencha is running out of his fusion time. He's got about 10 minutes left. If you can hold out for that long then you can break the objects controlling Tien and Yamcha."

"I know all that already."

"Can you do it?"

"Easily." Goku smiled to himself. It was that smile that let his friends know that everything would be okay and it let his enemies know that they were in trouble. "Come on Tiencha! I want to beat you before you unfuse!"

"Then for your sake you better have figured out how to stop this." Tiencha slid onto his back leg and raised his hands like claws. Once again, his fingertips were glowing white. "I'll destroy you with my Wolf Flare Fist!"


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: Goku versus Tiencha, Round 2**

"I'll destroy you with my Wolf Flare Fist!" Tiencha yelled as charged at Goku. Tiencha's right palm slammed into Goku's face, but at that exact same moment, Goku's fist slammed into Tiencha's face. Tiencha quickly hopped back. "How'd you do that?"

"You were right, there is no way to dodge that Wolf Flare Fist of yours, not that I've thought of yet anyway. But, that doesn't stop me from hitting you at the same time. We'll just trade blows if you insist on using that technique."

"We'll see about that!" Tiencha lunged forward again and began rapidly assaulting Goku with his Wolf Flare Fist. Every single one of Tiencha's attacks hit Goku, but in return, Goku hit Tiencha for every hit he took. The two pounded away on each other, neither trying to dodge at all. One of Tiencha's punches hit Goku hard enough to make his nose bleed, but Goku never stopped attacking. Instead he threw a punch hard enough to leave Tiencha with a black eye. Tiencha didn't stumble either though, and both went right back to pummeling each other. Then they both threw a particularly powerful punch at each other. Goku's hit Tiencha in the stomach while Tiencha's hit Goku in the face. Tiencha fell to his knees and stared up at the sky. Goku stumbled forward and ended up resting his head on Tiencha's shoulder.

"This… is… intense." Goku said between gasps.

"What's wrong… done… already?" Tiencha responded, equally tired. Goku chuckled a little.

"Ha ha. No way. I'll outlast you for sure."

"You think so huh?" Tiencha put his hands on Goku's stomach and shot an energy blast off at him. At that same time though, Goku put his hand in front of Tiencha's face and fired off an energy blast of his own. Goku went sailing into the air before finally falling and hitting the ground with a thud. Tiencha went flailing backwards from Goku's blast and slammed into a tree. Both of the fighters were exhausted and didn't move for a few minutes. Suddenly then, Goku's head flung up and he was sitting up gasping for air. Goku wearily got onto his feet and stared at Tiencha who was still up against the tree. Tiencha then opened his eyes up and stumbled onto his feet.

"Tiencha, let's settle this once and for all!" Tiencha gave a nod of agreement and flew into the air above the trees. Goku flew up as well. Tiencha got into his Wolf Flare Fist stance. "That again?"

"Yeah, you still haven't come up with an effective counterattack."

"Actually, now I have."

"You're bluffing."

"Try me. But hurry it up; we've only got about a minute left."

"Then I'll make this a killing blow." Tiencha's fingertips started to glow. "Wolf, Flare, Fist." Tiencha said calmly. He stared at Goku for a few seconds longer. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what Goku was planning. 'Is there really a weakness to my move? Time to find out.' Tiencha charged forward at Goku. Goku saw the light starting to spread and it was already becoming too difficult to figure out exactly where Tiencha's hands were. Tiencha moved closer and closer to Goku. His hands were completely obscured. Would he attack Goku's head, his chest, or maybe even a leg? Goku had no way of knowing.

"Yah!" With Tiencha only five feet away, Goku stuck his right hand out and shot an energy blast at Tiencha. Tiencha was knocked back a little. With an annoyed look on his face, he charged at Goku again. "Hyah! Yah! Yah!" Each time Goku fired a blast, it hit Tiencha and knocked him a little further back again. Tiencha was making progress though. He finally reached Goku and took a swing at him. Goku hopped back in mid-air and Tiencha's fist went through the air, hitting nothing at all. Tiencha stopped and looked down at his hand with a sad look on his face. He then looked back up at Goku.

"I thought it was such a great move, but the counter was so simple."

"Yeah, the counter is so simple that it's easy to overlook. That's what makes it a great move."

"Spare me your pity. All you had to do was jump backwards to dodge it. You even proved that I'm vulnerable to long range attacks while I'm doing it. That's two weaknesses."

"That's right." Goku said with a smile.

"We're so pathetic." Tiencha said as a bright light engulfed him. When the light faded, Tien and Yamcha were floating in the area that Tiencha had just been.

"The two of you, well there's just no way for me to not respect you. It's good to have you back."

"What are you talking about?" Scowled Yamcha as he got into a fighting stance.

"We aren't finished yet." Tien added as he got into a fighting stance as well.

"But, I don't get it." Goku said confused. "The fusion is over, aren't you guys back to normal?" Tien and Yamcha both scowled at Goku before charging him. The two launched a simultaneous melee on Goku. Goku began rapidly dodging their attacks, not bothering to attack back at first. Yamcha and Tien's attack quickly slowed down and it wasn't long before they were throwing punches at a speed that even a normal person could dodge. "That's enough you two." Goku said as he stuck his hands out. He blasted each of them with an invisible ki blast that sent that a few feet backwards in the air. Tien and Yamcha were both covered in sweat and panting heavily. "You guys need to rest." Suddenly Yamcha clutched at his shirt.

"My heart…" Yamcha managed to mutter out. "…hurts." Tien then leaned forward and put both of his arms across his stomach. Tien started coughing badly.

"Goku!" King Kai's voiced boomed inside his head. "You have to help them now!" Goku rushed forward and grabbed at the gold metal object on Yamcha's head. He tried to pry it off, but had no luck.

"Fine, then I'll blast it off!" Goku said to himself. "Careful now." Goku said to calm himself down. Goku attempted to form a very small, and very thin, but powerful beam, to blast part of the object off of Yamcha's head. No energy formed at his fingertips though. Goku hopped off of the flailing Yamcha and was back where he just was. Goku floated there in the air and just stared in shock at Tien and Yamcha.

"Goku!" King Kai yelled again. "You have to do something now! They're dying!"

"I…" Goku began. 'I don't know what to do.' Goku was exhausted; he barely had enough energy to hold onto his Super Saiyan 3 form, let alone enough to do anything else. 'I don't have enough power left. What do I do?' Yamcha yowled in pain as Tien coughed even louder. 'What do I do?' Goku's thoughts became more panicked as he was still clueless. Yamcha screamed his loudest scream of pain yet. As Tien coughed, some blood came out of his mouth. 'What do I do!?'

"Gooookkkuuuuuu!" Goku's mind went blank and he found his mouth opening on its own. The words that came out of his mouth ended up surprising even him.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: The Return of Kaio Ken**

"Kaio-Ken!" Goku yelled while still in his Super Saiyan 3 form. A red aura flared up over him. To Goku, it felt like flames had just soared up from his feet and engulfed him. His vision even became tinted red. Goku's eyes had closed when he yelled out the attack name, but now he opened them. Goku reeled back in shock at what he saw. "Nobody… is moving." Goku flew over to Yamcha and Tien. "Right, first things first; saving these two." Goku formed a small energy blast on the tip of his finger. He went over to Yamcha and carefully fired the blast at the metal object. He then fired it several more times at different points until it was cracked all over. Goku then took his hand and brushed all of the metal debris off of Yamcha's head. He smiled to himself with some satisfaction.

"Good! Now for Tien." Goku hopped over to Tien and repeated the process with him. He then took another hop away from both of them and admired his work. He looked all around himself and saw that nothing was moving. "This is weird, did time stop?" Goku continued to look all around himself. "No, I'm just moving that fast. I didn't even know that this was possible. I should have done this a long time ago. I could have easily beaten Buu with this move. It makes me wonder why King Kai ever warned me against it." Goku thought back to the time shortly after he had won the otherworld tournament.

Goku was walking beside King Kai on the planet of the Grand Kai.

"That was pretty impressive of you Goku." King Kai said to him.

"Thanks King Kai, but Pikkon was a really tough opponent to beat."

"Yeah, you did well, but I need to warn you about something." Goku got an inquisitive look on his face.

"Warn me? About what?"

"During that match you used the Kaio-Ken while you were a Super Saiyan."

"Oh yeah! Pretty smooth move, huh?" Goku said proudly of himself.

"Pretty stupid move is more like it."

"Huh, but why?"

"Goku, you probably didn't notice it because you're already dead, and because it was for such a short time, but using a Super Kaio-Ken is extremely dangerous." Goku opened up his mouth to ask why again, but King Kai cut him off. "Just think for a second will you. The Super Saiyan form and the Kaio-Ken both give you big power boosts, but they both put a strain on your body. Your Super Saiyan form gives you more power with less strain than the Kaio-Ken, so naturally it's better."

"Well yeah, but I was desperate and I just had to win, so I figured I'd combine the two."

"Just don't do it ever again."  
"But why not?"

"It's too dangerous, that's why! You got lucky this time Goku, but what if you had done it for longer than that, or what about when you reach Super Saiyan 2?"

"But I can't go Super Saiyan 2."

"Not yet, but knowing you, you'll get there. I wouldn't even be surprised if you found something beyond that in the next decade or two."

"You really think so King Kai?" Goku said excitedly.

"Well, maybe in a century, but sure! So just promise me you'll never use your Kaio-Ken while you're a Super Saiyan ever again."

"Okay King Kai, I promise."

Back in the present, Goku laughed to himself.

"Poor King Kai, he's always worrying himself over nothing. Kind of reminds me of Chi-Chi actually. Ha ha ha!" Goku laughed to himself some more. As he was laughing, Goku felt his stomach churn. Goku then suddenly threw up. Because he was still moving so fast, the vomit hung in midair once it got out of Goku's body. Goku was suddenly covered in sweat and started feeling extremely hot. He looked around dizzily and spotted a small lake amongst the forest. He slowly made his way over to it. The red tint to his vision began to fade, and everything was quickly blurring to him. Goku's eyes closed and he blacked out.

Down below on the ground, Bebidi, Turles, and Cooler watched as Goku panicked.

"It's almost time." Said Cooler. Just then they all heard Goku yell out Kaio-Ken. A red aura swirled up around Goku. Cooler and Turles both opened their eyes wide. All they were able to see though was an extremely quick blur and then Goku was falling into the nearby lake.

"What the hell was that!?" Turles yelled. "I, I couldn't follow it all! Cooler, could you?" Turles was shaking all over. Cooler breathed deep, but still couldn't stop himself from trembling.

"No." 'That was way faster than even Gohan.'

"Hey boys." Bebidi said to them. "I know my eyes aren't as sharp as yours, but he turned red. If I studied Goku right, that means he used the Kaio-Ken, while he was a Super Saiyan 3." Turles growled and clenched his fist. He turned his head to stare down at Bebidi.

"So it's called Kaio-Ken." Turles said. Bebidi gave a nod. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"It's just the name of a technique and I never thought he'd actually use it. Now come on you two, we're not finished here yet. I saw something else fall from the direction that Goku fell from. Cooler, you go check it out. Turles, you're with me. We're going to find Goku and complete phase 2 of our plan." While the 3 were talking, Yamcha and Tien had fallen to the ground unconscious. The metal objects controlling them were indeed destroyed, and the marks of Mejinn had faded from their arms. Luckily for them, Bebidi and the others had let themselves get too preoccupied with Goku to remember them.

"Something smells strange." Cooler muttered to himself. He walked around a tree and saw what the falling object had been. Upon impact, it splattered all over the ground and other nearby trees. "Disgusting." Cooler then turned around and headed over to where Goku was. Turles leapt out of the trees and expected to land on the edge of the lake. Instead, he found himself completely surrounded by steam. Turles naturally started to sweat.

"What the hell?" Grumbled Turles to himself. "I thought this was a normal lake, not a hot springs. Hyah!" With a quick yell Turles unleashed an invisible ki blast that blew away all the steam. Bebidi made his way out of the trees and walked past a stunned Turles.

"Wow." Bebidi said nonchalantly. "The entire lake has dried up. That sure is going to suck for the local wildlife." Turles was still standing with his mouth hanging open. Cooler came out of the trees and even he couldn't help but pull his head back at the sight. "Cooler, what was the other object we saw fall?" Cooler stared over at Bebidi.

"It was puke. It looks like our friend Goku threw up."

"Eww." Bebidi said. Turles shook his head and started walking into the center of the dried up lake. Laying there in the middle was Goku on his back, no longer in any Super Saiyan form. His eyes were closed and he was making struggled gasps for air. The short Bebidi loomed over Goku with Turles and Cooler standing only a step behind Bebidi on each side.

"You see…" Cooler began. "…this is why I like having a plan. Things just go better when you have a good one." Bebidi smiled maliciously at the downed Goku.

"Goku. You, have, lost!"


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33: Kakarot**

"Goku. You, have, lost!" Bebidi said to the downed saiyan warrior. "Phase 1 of our plan was a success, and now phase 2 will follow." Bebidi reached behind himself and pulled a small silver can out from a back pocket. "Pure concentrated evil. Turles, grab him." Turles reached down and grabbed Goku's arm.

"Ow!" Turles yelled out as he let go of Goku.

"What's wrong?"

"His body, it's hot. Just touching him burned my hand."

"Then grab his hair."

"Don't touch him!" yelled a brand new voice as a figure appeared in front of them. It was the supreme kai, Kibitoshen. Kibitoshen appeared only a foot away from Goku. Without waiting a moment longer, he reached out for Goku. A grate slid across Cooler's mouth and he leapt forward at Kibitoshen. Kibitoshen stuck his hand out to grab Goku, with his fingers on Goku's shirt, Cooler hit him. A quick left hook from Cooler had sent Kibitoshen back several feet and he was no longer near Goku. Kibitoshen growled in frustration through his teeth.

"Planning on making a getaway?" Cooler said to him.

"Who are you anyway?" Bebidi said to him. Kibitoshen kept his eyes locked with Cooler's, but answered his question.

"I am the Supreme Kai. I spent most of my life tracking down your father, and now I'll stop you as well."

"You're the Supreme Kai?" Bebidi said surprised. He looked at him a little longer. "My father always said you were shorter and had a spiky mohawk."

"I've gotten stronger since then and my look has changed a little."

"So you have and so it has." Bebidi motioned with his head towards Turles. Turles grabbed Goku's head and lifted him into the air. Bebidi waved his finger over the top of the can and a small hole formed in it. A black mist slowly started to pour out of the top of it.

"What are you doing Bebidi? That's concentrated evil! Do you have any idea what that's capable of?"

"Yes." Turles grabbed Goku's chin and forced his mouth open. Goku's temperature had gone down a little, but Turles still flinched when he grabbed Goku's chin. Bebidi gritted his teeth and grabbed Goku's nose. He then poured a thick black liquid into Goku's mouth. Bebidi backed away while Turles then pinched Goku's nose and held his mouth shut.

"Swallow it!" Turles yelled. Though he was nearly unconscious, Goku still tried to resist. "Swallow it Kakarot!" Goku held out for a few seconds longer, before he gulped and the foul liquid went down his throat. Turles smiled a grin of delight and loosened his grip on Goku. Goku gasped for air as he fell back over to the ground. "Should we give him some more?" Turles asked hopefully.

"Goku!" A frantic Kibitoshen yelled as he charged forward. Cooler quickly turned around though and whipped Kibitoshen in the face with his tail. Kibitoshen was knocked back again.

"Back off." Cooler said coldly.

"I still don't get how this will work though." Turles said. "Just because he has evil in his heart, doesn't mean he'll necessarily join us as a Mejinn fighter. Bebidi circled his finger on the can and the hole in it was sealed up.

"He won't be Mejinn, he'll be Majinn."

"What? I thought you couldn't use Majinn power."

"I never said that, I'm just no good at it. When I would use the magic power of Majinn, it doesn't increase the person's power at all. I'm just no good at it. That's why I created Mejinn power. The key difference between Mejinn and Majinn is willingness. Normal Majinn power has to break down the victim's will first, so it doesn't have as much power left over to give to them as someone that submits willingly."

"So, if Cooler and I never submitted to you, would you have just made us Majinn fighters?" Bebidi smiled at Turles.

"But of course." Turles couldn't decide how to feel about what Bebidi said, so he just smiled slyly at him.

"Goku will never join you!" Kibitoshen yelled.

"He doesn't have a choice. Even now I can feel his heart becoming more and more evil. To ingest pure concentrated evil is to become evil. It is unavoidable." Bebidi focused his gaze on Goku. "And now, become Majinn." While Vegeta seemed to have spasms when he went Majinn, Goku was too tired to do anything. An M slowly started to appear on his forehead. "You belong to me now."

"Vegeta was a rouge while he was Majinn, I guarantee you Goku will be too." Kibitoshen said confidently to Bebidi. Bebidi ignored him. He crouched down and put his hand over Goku's heart. He closed his eyes and started talking aloud to himself.

"Magic of Mejinn, leave this body and return to me. Allow it to heal in any way it desires." Bebidi stood back up and began to walk back over to Turles. He stopped though and turned back around. He leaned down and whispered something into Goku's ear. He chuckled to himself and then went back over to Turles. "Let's go boys." Cooler did a back flip and landed beside Turles. He put his left hand on Turles's shoulder and put his two of his right fingers to his forehead. Bebidi put his hand on Cooler's leg. "Get the namek to heal him; it will make the fun start sooner." The three of them then vanished.

"Goku!" Kibitoshen yelled as he rushed over to Goku. "I'm so sorry Goku, I tried to grab you and get away, but I wasn't fast enough." Kibitoshen lifted Goku up and put his arm around his shoulder. "I'll get you to Dende right away." Kibitoshen was about to teleport away, but he stopped. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot about Tien and Yamcha!" Kibitoshen put Goku back down and went off to find the other two. He quickly found them and brought them back to where Goku was, but he was gone. Kibitoshen looked around curiously. "Goku?"

Up on Dende's lookout, Dende and Mr. Popo had taken Krillin, Piccolo, Raditz, and Bardock to a room that had some beds. They were all still bruised up, but otherwise fine. The hole in Piccolo's chest had even regenerated back already. Mr. Popo was in the room looking after them while Dende went back out to the surface of the lookout. He sighed to himself. It helped him relieve only the slightest bit of tension he was feeling. He sighed again and begun to feel a little bit better. He began a third sigh, but was interrupted by the sound of a thud behind him. He quickly turned around.

"Goku!" Dende yelled. He immediately noticed his wounds. Goku landed on his stomach and had his head face down. "You're hurt! I'll get you some help."

"Wait Dende." Goku gasped to him. "Use, your magic, to heal me."

"But, aren't those Mejinn injuries you have?"

"Just do it!" Dende was taken aback by Goku's sudden outburst. "Please Dende. It'll work. Trust me." Dende gave a nod and walked over to Goku and began to heal him. Much to his surprise, Goku's wounds healed. "Goku! Your wounds healed! This is great!" Goku smiled to himself.

"Yeah!" He said. "But."

"Huh? But what Goku?" Goku lifted his head up and stared right into Dende's eyes.

"The name's Kakarot."


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34: Kakarot's Games**

"The name's Kakarot." Goku said with a devilish grin. Dende then noticed the black M on his forehead and his mouth slowly started to open in horror. Goku quickly stood up and grabbed Dende by the neck. He quickly lifted him into the air. "Listen to me Dende, and pay close attention. Tell everyone to watch the television for the rest of the day. They'll get a very important message from me."

"Goku." Dende spat out. Goku growled.

"That's Kakarot!" Goku tossed Dende across the ground. "Do you get what I told you Dende?" Dende nodded his head. "Good." Goku put his fingers to his head and vanished. Just after Goku vanished, Kibitoshen appeared in front of Dende. He quickly noticed Dende on the ground.

"Dende, what are you doing on the ground."

"Goku was here."

"Goku was here!?"

"Goku was here."

"Was anything strange about him?"

"He wasn't nice at all and he wanted me to call him Kakarot." Kibitoshen got a concerned look on his face. "Sir, he had the mark of a Majinn fighter." Kibitoshen remained silent. He set Yamcha and Tien down.

"Heal these two, they're not mejinn injuries. I've got to get going. Do you know where Goku went?"

"No, he just said to watch the television over the next day." Kibitoshen gave a nod.

"With no way of knowing where he is, I think it would be best if I return to my planet." Dende gave a nod and Kibitoshen vanished.

Back at Goku's house, Vegeta awoke from his nap on the roof quite suddenly. He looked around, but didn't see anything unusual. He cricked his neck and hopped off the roof and walked into the house. Everyone else was gone at the moment, so Vegeta didn't mind going inside to grab a drink and a bite to eat. He grabbed a soda from the fridge and opened it while still holding it in his hand. He drank half the can in a single gulp before he heard a noise from somewhere else in the house. Vegeta carefully put the can down and narrowed his eyes.

'Someone is robbing the place?' Vegeta thought to himself. 'Vegeta slowly made his way through the house. He cracked open a door and then just shoved it all the way open when he saw who it was. "Oh, it's you Kakarot." Goku had his back turned to Vegeta.

"Hey Vegeta." Goku said with a wave, while still keeping his back turned to Vegeta. "What's up?" Vegeta instantly noticed that Goku wasn't in his usual clothes. He was wearing a blue gi that hung open loosely, revealing most of his chest. He also had on some yellow pants and black boots. He even had a black belt tied around his waist.

"Nothing, I take it you won the fight?" Vegeta asked inquisitively.

"Of course." Goku said smugly. "You should have come along Vegeta, you would have enjoyed it. Krillin got his ass kicked. It was really funny." Vegeta's eyes narrowed and began walking over to Goku.

"That doesn't sound like something you would find funny!" Vegeta turned Goku around and was met by his smiling face and of course, the Majinn symbol on his forehead. "Ah!" Vegeta's pulled his head back with a look of shock. He then smiled and leaned in closer. "Nice try Kakarot." Vegeta spit in his hand and rubbed it across Goku's forehead. "As if you could ever go Majinn. You almost had me going there."

"Umm, what are you doing?"

"Wiping that stupid mark off your head." Vegeta got frustrated. "Geez Kakarot, did you use a permanent marker to put this on?" Goku shoved Vegeta away from him and then wiped the spit off his forehead.

"It's not marker Vegeta. I really have gone Majinn." Vegeta turned around and walked back towards the door.

"Sure you have." Vegeta said with a wave as he left the room. Vegeta proceeded to empty out the fridge and make himself a giant sandwich. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. As he was about to take a huge bite out of his equally huge sandwich, he saw Goku appear on the TV. "Kakarot?" Vegeta turned the volume up.

"Vegeta! We're back!" Bulma yelled as she and Chi-Chi came into the house with their arms full of groceries. Bulma noticed Vegeta's sandwich. "I'm so sorry Chi-Chi. I promise I'll pay you back for all the food we've eaten while staying here."

"Nonsense." Chi-Chi replied. "You're guests here, so you'll be doing no such thing."

"Shut up you two!" Vegeta yelled. Chi-Chi and Bulma both got annoyed looks on their faces. "Kakarot is on TV." Until they heard the second part. They both rushed over to the couch and Bulma turned up the volume even more. Goku was indeed on TV, and a terrified news reporter sat in a chair next to him. His desk was broken in half and he was very nervous sitting beside Goku.

"Umm, to r-repeat our t-top s-story." The reporter stuttered out. The camera zoomed in on Goku and he began to speak.

"My name is Kakarot and in 3 weeks time I'll be holding the Kakarot games. You all remember the Cell Games; well it's like that, except I'm way more terrifying than Cell ever was. The stakes are the same too. If nobody can stop me, then I'll hunt down and kill every last being on this planet." Bulma and Chi-Chi sat in shocked silence on the couch. Chi-Chi suddenly burst into tears as Bulma tried to console her.

"Well I'll be." Vegeta said to himself. "He really is Majinn. Humph." Vegeta then proceeded to eat his huge sandwich as if nothing had happened.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35: Anxiety**

It didn't take long for word of the Kakarot games to spread throughout the world and an almost mass hysteria came with it. This was also due in part to Goku destroying several abandoned buildings. Coming to the rescue of the world's sanity was none other than the world champion, Mr. Satan. Not long after Goku's announcement, Hercule stood before a group of reporters and large crowd of fans. He stepped up onto a large stage that had a huge screen behind it. With all cameras pointed solely at him, the crowd began to cheer wildly.

"Saaatan! Saaatan! Saaatan!" Hercule raised his arms into the air and made a V with his fingers on both hands.

"Yeeeeaaaaahhhh!" Hercule let out in a mighty yell. He grabbed one of the mikes and looked menacingly into the camera. "You listen here carrot or whatever your name is! I am thee World Champion! Thee man who defeated Cell and I will crush you even easier than I did him!" The crowd burst into an even wilder cheer and Hercule began to strike some poses while flexing his muscles. After a few minutes of this, he stopped and walked back over to the microphones. "Now if you'll all please quiet down, I'll take some questions." Various reporters began yelling out.

"Mr. Satan! Mr. Satan!" "Hey Hercule, over here!" "Right here champ!" Hercule quickly pointed at one of them and the rest of them all got quiet.

"Yes, you there. What's your question?"

"Mr. Satan, this person appears to be human, but used lights to destroy the buildings, much like Cell. Can you explain this?"

"That's just a simple and cheap trick; an illusion to try and make him look stronger than he really is. A real martial artist doesn't need such things. Why, I bet he planted explosives in those buildings ahead of time. He's no more than a common criminal and I will bring him to justice!" The crowd cheered wildly again. Their cheers quickly turned to yells of fear and panic though as Goku suddenly appeared a few feet away from Hercule.

"Hi!" Goku said with a wave of his hand.

"Everyone, stay calm! Don't let him scare you! I promise you all, I won't let you be harmed!" Goku shot a light energy blast at Hercule and he went skidding across the stage. Goku walked over to the microphones and tapped them.

"There's one thing I forgot to mention earlier. Bebidi! I hope that you're watching, because the Kakarot Games are a challenge to you and your crew as well. Send your best fighter so I can crush him into dust too." Goku put his fingers to his head and disappeared again. Some of the stage crew rushed over to Hercule and helped him up.

"Are you okay Mr. Satan?" One of them asked. "What happened?" Hercule noticed the eerie silence of such a large crowd and saw the worry on the people's faces. He slowly walked over to the center of the stage again.

"Umm…" Hercule began. "…I bet you're all wondering what just happened right there." The entire crowd nodded in unison and Hercule couldn't help but get freaked out a little by the strange sight of it. "Ahem, well…" Hercule used his quick thinking to come up with a story to cover for himself. "…I let him hit me! If I had dodged it, then nearby people would have been harmed. So I took the hit on purpose!" Hercule said looking awfully proud of himself. The crowd was silent for a moment, as if they doubted his story. A bead of sweat began to roll down Hercule's face. Just then, someone from the crowd let out a huge cheer and soon the entire crowd was once again chanting for Hercule. "This Kakarot guy is clearly a coward and I'll take him down in 3 weeks. In a place where he can't harm innocent people." The crowd roared their loudest yet as Hercule turned on his feet and begun to proudly walk off the stage. That footage, and the original tape of Goku, would be broadcast repeatedly throughout the 3 weeks up until the Kakarot games.

Meanwhile, the Z Fighters were all on edge and prepared for the event in different ways.

"Yeah! Go Gohan!" Goten yelled. High up on a mountain, not too far from Goku's house, Gohan was sparring against Piccolo, Krillin, and Future Trunks all at once. Goten and Kid Trunks were sitting on the ground watching as the 3 fighters all desperately tried to land even a single punch on Gohan. Gohan weaved in and out of all of them as if they were standing still. Eventually, the three slowly floated to the ground, panting for air. Gohan didn't seem fazed at all though.

"Man." Kid Trunks said rather annoyed. "You guys couldn't hit him even once."

"Sorry, bro." Future Trunks said in between gasps.

"You guys did good." Gohan said to them. "Why don't we call it a day?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Okay, I'll see you all back at my place for dinner." Gohan flew off and that left Piccolo and Krillin with a chance to talk.

"Well, he's definitely strong enough to beat Goku." Krillin said. "There's not really anything to worry about then." Unbeknownst to the rest of them, Vegeta had been watching the entire time from a hiding spot. Now that Gohan was gone, he hopped down and made his presence known. "Vegeta! When did you get here?" Vegeta ignored Krillin, much to his annoyance.

"We're in trouble." Vegeta said casually.

"Huh? What do you mean? If it's about Goku, Gohan can beat him easily and knock him back to his senses."

"He has the power to win, but he won't." Piccolo got a more serious look on his face.

"I think you're being paranoid Vegeta."

"So." Piccolo began. "You've felt it too then Vegeta?"

"Of course I have." Vegeta replied. "I'm nobody's fool."

"Just what are you guys talking about?" Future Trunks said rather confused.

"It's a concern that I've had ever since I've heard about Goku becoming Majinn." Piccolo answered him. "And Vegeta's picked up on it too. Now I'm even more worried."

"What concern?"

"Gohan is stronger than Goku, but he doesn't have the heart to fight his dad."

"Hey!" Krillin yelled. "Gohan can do whatever's necessary! You weren't there Piccolo, but Vegeta was. Back on Namek, when Captain Ginyu took over Goku's body, Gohan fought him with everything he had. I did too."

"Yeah." Said Vegeta. "But things were different then. Kakarot was still alive in Ginyu's body. You two were weaker than him, so going all out didn't mean anything to you two. Plus, I was there. If necessary, I would have killed Ginyu in Kakarot's body. I wouldn't have hesitated either. Can you say the same thing?" Krillin got a look of anger on his face, but then it turned to one of sadness. Krillin shook his head no. "And that's exactly my point! How many of you here right now could kill Kakarot if it came down to it." Piccolo spoke up.

"I could. I wouldn't like it, but I'd do it if it came to that."

"Piccolo!" Krillin said in shock.

"I'd expect him to do the same with me!" Piccolo yelled defensively. "Not that it even matters. I'm not strong enough to beat Goku."

"Exactly my point." Vegeta said sternly. He then turned to face the boys. "Goten! If it came down to it, could you kill your dad?"

"Huh?" Goten said absent mindedly. Tears began to form in his eyes. "I don't want my dad to die! Waah!"

"See what I mean, that makes Gotenks useless as well. Gohan puts on a strong front for the rest of us, but he doesn't have what it takes to kill Kakarot. He's not a warrior, just a fighter."

"Darn it Vegeta!" Krillin yelled. "You've made him cry." Krillin rushed over to Goten to try and comfort him.

"So what?" Vegeta said as he turned his back to the crying child. "There will be worse things than this to cry about if we can't stop him."

"Aww man." Future Trunks said to himself as he stared up at the sky. It was beginning to get dark and he could faintly see some stars. "Why did Tien and Yamcha have to disappear? They could have helped us out a lot."

"They feel guilty." Krillin said. "They blame themselves for what happened to Goku. I tried to tell them otherwise, but they wouldn't listen. I don't know where they are now."

"So we can't count on them either." Vegeta stated. "What a sorry bunch you all are."

"Hey!" Future Trunks yelled. "I can fight Goku, I just wouldn't kill him." Future Trunks noticed the annoyed look of his father and quieted down. Piccolo couldn't contain his anger any longer; he snarled and yelled at Vegeta.

"At least the rest of us are willing to fight! You lose an arm and you just give up! You have no right to criticize the rest of us! At least we're all going to try!" Vegeta didn't say anything back, and instead just stared at the namek. "I'm heading back to the lookout now." Piccolo flew into the air and left the rest of them there. Krillin then began to head down the mountain with Goten and Kid Trunks. Future Trunks walked over to Vegeta.

"Dad, we should get going or dinner will be cold."

"Go on ahead without me." Vegeta said to him. "There's something I need to take care of." Vegeta then flew off into the air in the direction that Piccolo had headed. He quickly caught up with Piccolo and made his own speed match his. Piccolo's eyes glanced over at him and then looked forward again.

"What do you want Vegeta?" Piccolo said rather annoyed. "I really don't feel like talking to your right now."

"Well that's just too damn bad." Vegeta said to him. "There's something important I need to talk to you about, but before I get to that, I've got something to get off of my chest." Piccolo didn't say anything. "Just who the hell do you think you are!? You criticize me and mock me because I lose an arm, but you could never know what that's like! Don't try acting all superior with me. You couldn't possibly know how I feel. I will never, never, be as good a fighter as I once was! You don't have any clue what that feels like to a saiyan!" Vegeta took a deep breath and continued with speech. "You lose an arm and you just make a new one. Well it doesn't work that way for the rest of us. I've just got to deal with it." Vegeta stopped talking and they flew along in silence for a few seconds.

"You're right. I don't know how it feels, but, this is a desperate situation. Even if you do only have one arm, we could still really use your help."

"That is why I'm here." Vegeta said with a grin. Piccolo couldn't help but smirk to himself.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that don't you?"

"I'm the saiyan prince, I have to be." Vegeta then got a serious look on his face again. "It's going to come down to one of us you know, so we're going to need a plan."

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm going back now. I need to talk something over with Bulma. I think I have the beginning of a plan starting to form. I'll be back to see you in about a week or two and whatever you do, don't use the Time Chamber until I see you again."

"Right. Hey Vegeta."

"What is it now?"

"You're really getting into this team player thing."

"Grr. Don't think for a second that I like this! It's just that the thought of losing to Kakarot is so awful that I'm willing to work with you to beat him. And only this one time because the entire world is at stake! I swear, if only half the world was at stake then I wouldn't bother." Vegeta then powered up and flew off in the opposite direction of Piccolo. Piccolo couldn't help but smile to himself as he finished his flight to the lookout.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36: A Dangerous Secret**

A few days after Piccolo's talk with Vegeta, he was meditating up on the lookout. Sparks flew off around him as he floated in the air. Raditz and Bardock were sparring with each other and hopping all over the lookout while they did it. Dende was standing around watching the two of them go at it and Mr. Popo was watering some plants. Piccolo's eye began to twitch and the sparks around him faded. He put his feet on the ground, stood up, and let out a big sigh. Mr. Popo overheard this and walked over to Piccolo.

"Is everything alright?" Mr. Popo asked Piccolo.

"No." Piccolo replied bluntly. "Not unless you know of a way for me to get a lot stronger in less than 3 weeks."

"Well, there's still the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"Yeah, Vegeta asked me to not use it until he got back. He said he has a plan. Besides that, would an extra 2 years of training really do me any good?"

"Of course it would."

"But it wouldn't do enough good to let me beat Goku."

"No, I suppose not."

"I hope Vegeta's got a really good plan, because I'm out of ideas."

"What about the dragonballs?"

"It hasn't been a year since we made the last set of wishes. We can't use them yet."

"Well, what about the black star dragonballs?"

"The what?"

"The black star dragonballs. I'm surprised you never thought to use them, I guess you figured the risk was just too great."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really?" Mr. Popo inquired inquisitively. "Kami knew all about them, so I just figured that you would too. Since the two of you fused at least."

"Well I don't, so tell me the story of these black star dragonballs."

"They were made at the same time as the regular dragonballs. Just like Kami split into a good and bad half, so did the dragonballs. While the regular dragonballs are linked to Kami, these were linked to the Evil King Piccolo. If he died, they would turn to stone, just like if Kami died, the regular dragonballs would turn to stone. Since the two of them were linked though, both would die at once and both sets of dragonballs would turn to stone at once."

"Still though, that doesn't explain why I don't know about them. I should know everything that Kami ever knew."

"I can't explain it." Mr. Popo said flatly. "Kami always said though that they were incredibly dangerous and powerful and that nobody else must ever know about them."

"Including me. That Kami, he must have somehow sealed off that memory of them from me when we fused."

"Yes, I suppose that is possible. Really though, Namekian fusion is all very confusing to me."

"I've got a question for you Mr. Popo. Why didn't the black star dragonballs turn to stone when the evil king Piccolo died?"

"I suppose because you still contain his essence."

"Okay fine, so we've got an extra set of dragonballs, what would we wish for?" Piccolo then answered his own question. "That's obvious, for Goku to be his old self again."

"They don't grant wishes."

"What do you mean?" Piccolo said rather annoyed. "They're dragonballs, of course they grant wishes!"

"Kami placed a seal on them so that can't be done. These dragonballs are different; they hold almost all of King Piccolo's power. If you were to reclaim that power, then you could easily be at the level of a Super Saiyan 2." Piccolo gritted his teeth and got in Mr. Pope's face.

"Why didn't you tell me this back when we were fighting Cell! I could have been strong enough to beat him right away!"

"I thought you knew!" Mr. Popo said rather frightened. "And besides that, you could become evil."

"What?" Piccolo was clearly surprised by this new bit of information.

"Imagine you did claim that power and became stronger than Cell, but you became evil. You would have killed Cell and then the rest of us yourself. It was far too dangerous!" There was some silence between the two and Piccolo sat back down.

"Do you even know where these dragonballs are? Why wouldn't Bulma's radar have ever picked up their signal?"

"All 7 are here on the lookout. They are in a special room which keeps them completely isolated from the rest of the world."

"Take me to them." Mr. Popo was hesitant. "I need to see them for myself."

"Alright." Mr. Popo led Piccolo inside the lookout without Raditz, Bardock, or Dende even noticing. Mr. Popo led him down several familiar hallways and rooms, but stopped in front of a wall. It slowly slid open and revealed a very short hallway with a door at the end of it. Mr. Popo turned around and faced Piccolo. "Whatever happens, you must not touch the dragonballs." Piccolo gave a nod. They went through the door into a pitch black room. A torch quickly lit up and revealed that the room was very small. Mr. Popo and Piccolo could barely fit in it. At the back of the room there was a pedestal. On top of it lay the 7 black star dragonballs. "There they are." Piccolo gazed at them and slowly started walking closer. He stuck his hand out and slowly moved it closer to the dragonballs.

"Yessss." Piccolo whispered out in a voice that sounded nothing like his own. Mr. Popo looked up into his eyes. They seemed to be glazed over, almost like he was hypnotized. The color of them was also changing from white to pink and slowly getting darker.

"Piccolo?" Mr. Popo said with abundant concern in his voice. Piccolo's hand moved closer and closer to the dragonballs, but it seemed more like something was leading his hand to them. Piccolo's hand was now less than a foot away and slowly drawing closer. "Piccolo that's enough. I think we should leave." Piccolo didn't seem to even hear him though. His hand got closer and a small bolt of purple lightning flashed between his fingers and the dragonballs. "Piccolo, stop!" His hand was now only inches away from them. He smiled a grin which was not reassuring to Mr. Popo in the slightest. His fingers were so close to the dragonballs when Mr. Popo yelled quite loudly. "No!" Mr. Popo leapt into the side of Piccolo and knocked him into the wall. Piccolo's eyes closed and then he opened them up wide. The color had faded from them and he quickly looked around. Piccolo quickly left the small room and went back out into the hallway. Mr. Popo quickly closed the door and went back into the hallway with him, sealing the passageway shut again on his way back out.

"I…" Piccolo said aloud, but found himself unable to come up with any more words. His heart was racing faster than it ever had before and he was breathing quite rapidly. "I…" he said again, hoping that this time more words would follow, but they didn't.

"Piccolo, are you okay? You had me really worried back there." Piccolo glanced over at Mr. Popo.

"I…" This time more words did follow. "…need to be alone." Piccolo walked off, leaving a very concerned Mr. Popo behind him. 'That was the most intense, terrifying, and exhilarating experience of my life. Exhilarating?' Piccolo thought to himself as he stopped in his tracks. 'Yeah, it was.'


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37: King Piccolo's Power**

"Goten! Trunks!" Gohan yelled into the air. "Come on out you guys!" Gohan scratched the back of his head. "Where'd they go?" Gohan wasn't going to find them though, because they were up on Dende's lookout. Earlier that morning, Piccolo had come and picked up Goten and Kid Trunks for the day.

Up on the lookout Bardock was meditating while Raditz was taking a nap. Bardock had a sudden vision of the future. He was sitting down and begun talking. His words were "What a useless vision." Bardock opened his eyes. "What a useless vision." Bardock said aloud to himself. He then stood up and stretched. He spotted Raditz taking a nap not far away. "That seems like a pretty good idea." Bardock said to himself with a yawn. Bardock went off to find a decent place to take a nap. At that same time, Piccolo just finished telling Trunks and Goten about the black star dragonballs. Mr. Popo was also with them.

"Do you understand?" Piccolo said to them.

"I think so." Trunks replied back.

"Wait." Goten said. "You used to be bad?"

"Yeah, weren't you paying attention you dummy?"

"I'm not a dummy. I was just surprised is all."

"Okay." Piccolo began to get a more serious tone now. "I want to absorb the power of the dragonballs. I'll become a lot stronger if I do that."

"Okay."

"Well what do you need us for?" Kid Trunks asked him.

"Well…" Piccolo began with an uneasy smile. "…if things should go wrong and I become the Evil King Piccolo again, I'll need you two to kill me." The two children stared at the older namek in shock.

"Kill you?"

"Uh-uh, no way?" Goten said to him.

"Goten." Piccolo looked at him sternly. "As it is now, I'm completely useless against Goku. I'm not saying I can beat Goku if I do this, but I'll at least have a chance this way, even if it is a small one." Goten seemed to hang on Piccolo's every word. "But, I need to know if you two are willing to put me down if things go wrong. If you both can't tell me that you can do that, then I'm not taking this power."

"Why not just get my dad to do it?" Trunks asked him.

"Your father might not be strong enough to beat me after this." Piccolo couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Yeah, I guess I can do it then." Piccolo got upset about his reply.

"I guess isn't good enough! This is my life we're talking about! I need a strong confident yes from both of you or I'm not doing this." Trunks looked down at the ground, his eyes narrowed into a serious stare. He looked back up and looked Piccolo directly in the eyes.

"Yes." He said this with unflinching conviction. "I can do it." Piccolo smiled, not at his answer, but because of the absolute confidence he felt in the young boy's answer.

"Goten. What about you?"

"Well…" Goten began. "…will you really be able to help my dad if this works?" Piccolo gave a nod. "Then, yes." Goten said it rather hesitantly. He then shook his head from side to side. "Yes! I won't be afraid."

"Good." Piccolo's smile seemed to have a very gentle feel to it. Piccolo then put his hands on the shoulders of the two boys. "I'm very proud of both of you. I'm sorry to put this burden on you two, but I'm not sure Gohan would have been up to it. He's a lot more attached to me than you guys." Piccolo turned to face Mr. Popo. "We're ready." Mr. Popo gave a nod and the group began to walk to the secret room. Around the corner, Dende shook nervously at what he had just overheard. Dende quickly walked to the outside of the lookout. He approached Bardock who was still looking for a place to take a nap.

"Bardock." Dende said to him.

"Hmm. What is it?" Bardock responded back to him rather plainly.

"I need you to go get Gohan and bring him here immediately."

"Why?"

"I can't explain right now. Can you just do this favor for me, it's really important." Bardock stared at Dende for a moment.

"Fine. I'll go get him."

"Make sure you tell him to get here asap." Bardock gave a nod and took off into the air at a casual pace. Dende looked down at Raditz who was snoring somewhat loudly. 'Gohan, I have faith in you. I know you can do what's necessary. Whether it involves taking down Piccolo or Goku.'

Meanwhile, Mr. Popo had gotten the black star dragonballs and moved them to a larger room. Mr. Popo set them all down and stepped away from them.

"So…" Trunks pondered aloud. "…how is this supposed to work anyway?"

"I'm not sure." Piccolo said to him.

"Well that's reassuring." Piccolo had spent the entire previous day in intense meditation to try and give himself the mental fortitude he would need to absorb the power of the Evil King Piccolo.

"Hmm." Piccolo hummed to himself. 'King Piccolo, your power was so immense. It was far greater than Goku could have ever handled at the time. Kami wasn't stupid though. He turned you into a complete weakling. Not a weakling compared to Earthlings, but compared to what you could have been. Now I'll use your power, but it won't be for Evil!' Piccolo confidently walked right up to the dragonballs. 'So far, so good. I'm not feeling anything like I did before.' Piccolo stuck his hand out. 'Here goes!' He grabbed the one star dragonball. He held it up in front of him and stared at it. The dragonball then slowly sunk into Piccolo's hand, as if it were being absorbed into his very body. The dragonball had been absorbed into Piccolo. He could feel his power level already beginning to rise. He picked up the 2 and 3 star dragonballs and did the same to them. 'This is good, I'm getting stronger and still in complete control.' Piccolo then picked up the 4 and 5 star dragonballs. The 4 star dragonball was quickly absorbed into Piccolo's body as well.

"How are you feeling?" Mr. Popo asked him curiously. "If you don't respond I'll have to tackle you again." Piccolo cracked a smile and turned his head towards Mr. Popo.

"That won't be necessary. I'm feeling fine. Actually, that's a lie." Trunks, Goten, and Mr. Popo all gasped. "I'm feeling better than fine. I can feel myself already starting to grow stronger."

"Do you need to rest?"

"No, I'm feeling pretty good right now. Anyway, 4 balls down, 3 to go." Piccolo then absorbed the 5 star dragonball into his hand. After that, he paused and didn't grab the remaining two dragonballs.

"How about now? Do you still feel alright?"

"Yes, I feel fine. I'm just mentally preparing myself for the next one." Piccolo picked up the 6 star ball. It felt unusually heavy to him. 'No, I can't handle anymore. I can feel it. If I absorb this dragonball, it will push me over the edge.' "I'm going to stop now."

"Really, how come?" Goten asked.

"I've just got a bad feeling about this next one is all. Absorbing the first 5 has made me stronger, so I'll just stop there."

"I think that's an excellent idea." Mr. Popo said with a large smile. Piccolo went to put the dragonball back down, but as he was moving his arm, he heard a voice in his head.

'No!' The voice yelled out. 'You've come too far to stop now!' Before Piccolo could put the dragonball back, it started to get absorbed into him.

"Aaaah!" Piccolo gasped in shock.

"What's happening?" Trunks yelled at him. "I thought you were going to stop!"

"I can't control it! It's absorbing into my body on its own!" The dragonball then completely sunk into Piccolo's hand. "Goten! Trunks! Fuse now! You have to stop me!" The white of Piccolo's eyes quickly turned to black and his pupils changed to red. Piccolo whipped his head back around and stared at the two boys. "King Piccolo is back."


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38: Run and Hide**

"Goten!" Kid Trunks yelled quickly. "Fusion! Now!"

"Right!" Goten replied. They both quickly got into position and started the dance. "Fuuuuu-sion!" They both said in unison while making the motions for the dance. "Ha!" They both pointed their fingers towards each other, but before they could touch, Trunks was shot in the chest by a pair of eye beams from Piccolo. Trunks was quickly pushed back and slammed into a wall.

"Trunks!" Goten yelled while turning his head to face him. "Hold on! I'm coming!"

"Goten! Look out!" Trunks yelled to him.

"Huh? Gack!" Piccolo had extended his arm and grabbed Goten's neck from behind. The arm quickly retracted and Goten was being fiercely chocked. Piccolo laughed as held Goten in one hand and then picked up the final dragonball in the other. He absorbed it into him and got his biggest power increase yet.

"Yah!" Trunks yelled as he transformed into a Super Saiyan and fired off a blast at Piccolo. The blast hit Piccolo's arm and severed it. Goten landed on the ground and quickly transformed into a Super Saiyan as well. Before he could do anything else though, Piccolo kicked him in the head and knocked him into a wall as well. "Goten, we have to fuse! We don't stand a chance like this!"

"I know!" The problem at the moment though was how Piccolo was between the two of them; his arm had already been regenerated. Piccolo quickly leapt at Goten and threw a fierce right punch at him. Goten barely dodged it by jumping above his arm, just to then get hit by a left hook from him. Trunks went barreling forward at Piccolo. Piccolo simply turned his head and fired off a quick mouth blast at him. Trunks was sent hurtling back again. Before he could land though, a stretched out arm had grabbed him around the neck.

"Leave them alone!" Mr. Popo said as menacingly as he could. He grabbed Piccolo and tried to loosen his grip on Trunks.

"Get off of me!" Piccolo yelled as he backhanded Mr. Popo into a wall. He turned around to face Goten. He smiled at the small child. "You look just like Goku did back then. I've got an idea, let's play a little game."

"A game?" Goten said cautiously.

"Hide and Seek. You hide and I'll look for you, then when I find you, I kill you. If you refuse to play…" Piccolo's eyes glanced over at Trunks in his hand. He squeezed his neck and Trunks let out a strained gasp for air. He lost his super saiyan form and his arms went limp.

"Stop it! You're going to kill him!" Trunks subconsciously struggled to breath. "Okay, I'll play!"

"Good, you have 30 seconds to hide." Goten turned around to run. "Goten!" He quickly stopped in his tracks and turned just his head around to look at Piccolo. "You might want to lose the Super Saiyan form. Your aura will give away your hiding place." Goten could feel sweat running down his head. "I've already started counting in my head you know. You should hurry." Goten powered down from his Super Saiyan form and ran off. "This should be fun." Goten quickly ran through the corridors of the lookout. He was sweating all over now and his heart was racing. He turned a corner and collided with someone. Goten fell back and quickly closed his eyes while putting his arms in front of himself.

"Easy there Goten." The voice said to him. Goten recognized the voice and opened his eyes.

"Uncle Raditz!" Goten said as he quickly leapt at him and hugged him. Raditz wasn't used to the kind of thing yet, and wasn't sure what to do, so he just held him there like that. Goten began to cry into his uncle's chest.

"I woke up to some loud noises and felt a strange energy. What happened?" Goten looked up into his face.

"Piccolo's bad! He hurt Popo, he's going to kill Trunks, and he's after me now. Help me!" Goten quickly said between his tears.

"Don't worry kid, I'll protect you." Raditz put his arms around Goten and quickly felt out where Piccolo's energy was. His pendulum room training had made him exceptionally skilled at sensing energy and suppressing his own. He turned around and ran in the opposite direction of Piccolo. 'Why did I say that?' Raditz thought to himself as he ran. He looked down at Goten in his arms. 'This kid has far more power than me, if he couldn't stop Piccolo, what chance do I have?' Raditz's forehead began to sweat and he started to run even faster. 'Doesn't Goten realize that I'm no match for Piccolo? Despite his power, he's still just a child. He thinks that since I'm older that I'll be able to protect him. What can I do though?' His thoughts were becoming more panicked. 'We're screwed if he finds us.' Raditz quickly stopped in his tracks. Goten looked up at him.

"Why'd you stop?" Thankfully for them, Goten had stopped crying. Raditz quickly put his hand over Goten's mouth. He leaned in close and whispered into Goten's ear.

"He's right below us, lower your power level and don't make a sound." Goten gave a nod and the two of them remained motionless. Below them, Raditz could sense each and every step that Piccolo took. He walked slowly and stopped directly below them. Raditz began to shake and tried to control his breathing as well. Though it was just a few seconds that Piccolo waited there, it seemed way too long for Raditz's tastes. Piccolo then walked past them. After he was about 10 feet away, Raditz let out a sigh of relief. He removed his hand from Goten's mouth and made a weary smile. "That was close."

"Uh huh." Goten replied with a nod of agreement.

"We'll get to the surface of the lookout and then get to your father or brother for help. Sound good?"

"Yeah, except, my dad is still Majinn."

"Right, guess I forgot." It was at this point that a hole was blown in the floor about 10 feet behind them.

"I know you're up there." Piccolo yelled from below. Raditz's whole body shook in fear as he felt Piccolo slowly float up to the floor they were on. Piccolo's feet didn't even make a sound when he landed. "You almost made it, but I've got better ears then you realize. Raditz kneeled down and put Goten on the ground.

"Uncle Raditz, what are you doing?" Goten said to him.

"Run." Raditz said to him plainly.

"What?"

"Run!" Goten stared at him a little longer before he asked.

"Together, right?"

"Just, r-run." Goten finally realized just how terrified his uncle was. He took a hesitant step back before he turned around and ran. Raditz slowly stood up and turned around to face Piccolo. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't holding anything in his hands. His cape and turban had also been discarded somewhere along the way. "Where's Trunks?" Piccolo smiled at Raditz.

"He's dead." Piccolo replied back happily. "I killed him."


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39: Live a Coward or Die Bravely**

"You killed Trunks?" Raditz asked uneasily. Piccolo gave a proud nod.

"The other boy is next." Piccolo said to him. He took a step towards Raditz. "Are you going to try and stop me? You know you don't stand a chance against me." Piccolo continued to walk forward. Raditz began to tremble all over as Piccolo got closer. "You aren't worth my time, so I've got a little choice for you to make. You can either let me pass and live on as a coward or you can try to stop me and bravely meet your end. It's your call really." Raditz found himself unable to move as Piccolo came even closer. Piccolo walked past Raditz and stopped a step behind him. "That's exactly the response I'd expect from a weakling." Piccolo went to take another step forward, but felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You won't touch him as long as I'm alive." Raditz said grimly to him.

"So be it." Piccolo grabbed Raditz's fingers and broke them. With a few lightning quick strikes, he had broken Raditz's left knee, right elbow, and several of his ribs. He then fired a shot that knocked Raditz into the wall. Raditz slumped down and began to cough up blood. "Weakling, what good did you think you'd do?" Piccolo turned his back on him and kept on walking down the hall and around a corner, leaving Raditz to die on his own. Raditz coughed up some more blood. He didn't know it, but one of his broken ribs had punctured his lung; he was suffocating on his own blood.

'Why wasn't it enough?' Raditz thought as he coughed some more. 'I know what I would need to become a Super Saiyan. So why couldn't I?' Raditz closed his eyes and prepared himself to die, strangely though, he didn't. To the contrary, Raditz was actually beginning to feel better. 'How is this happening?' Raditz opened his eyes and saw Dende standing above him. His arms were outstretched in front of him and he was healing Raditz. Raditz's eyes then shifted to a shape beside Dende. It was Kid Trunks. "Trunks, you're alive?"

"Yeah." Trunks responded to him. "Piccolo shot me through the chest with some eye beams." He pointed to the two holes in his shirt. "He then tossed me aside to let me die. It looks like he left you to die too." Raditz stood back up.

"Remarkable." He said as he moved his arms around in circles.

"Listen." Dende said to Raditz. "I sent Bardock off to get Gohan; we just need to wait until he arrives."

"That…" Kid Trunks added in. "…or find a chance for me and Goten to fuse."

"Piccolo is still after Goten." Raditz said to them both. "We have to catch up to him. Your healing is no good if he's already dead." The other two agreed and the three of them carefully chased after Piccolo. They heard what sounded like energy blasts being shot ahead of them. They approached a doorway and carefully peaked through it. Inside was a large room and Piccolo was tossing energy blasts into the air. In the air, Goten was flying around as a Super Saiyan, dodging the attacks. "He's doing pretty good."

"Yeah, he is." Dende said. Trunks wasn't as optimistic as the others though. He watched as Piccolo threw another blast of energy into the air. Goten dodged it, but the blast then hung in midair.

"Hey, don't you guys think it's weird that Piccolo's blasts are just floating in the air like that?"

"Now that you mention it, it does seem a little odd. You know, I could have sworn I was told about something like this before." Just then Piccolo stopped throwing blasts.

"That's sloppy of you Goten!" Piccolo yelled up to him. "Look around you; you're in the center of my Hellzone Grenade." Goten looked around himself.

"Grenade?" Goten said wonderingly.

"Ha!" Piccolo put his arms out to his sides and then brought them inwards. The blasts all converged on Goten. Goten quickly looked around himself for a way out, but there wasn't one. Goten was engulfed by a huge explosion and his body fell to the floor. He was back in his base form, and there was even smoke rising off of him.

"Hey." Trunks said with a shaken voice. "He's not dead, is he?" Goten let out a moan as if answering Trunks's question.

"We need to act now." Raditz said to Trunks. "I'm not any good with plans though."

"Well I'm probably not any better."

"Fine, how about this then; I'll fire a blast behind him to distract him, then you rush in at full speed and grab Goten. You get him healed, you fuse into Gotenks, and we win."

"Okay, I'll give it a try." Trunks powered up into a Super Saiyan and took off for Goten, just after Raditz fired a blast at the wall behind Piccolo. Piccolo did react to the blast, but instead of looking at where it went, he turned to face where it came from. He immediately noticed the three of them. Before any of them knew it, Piccolo let out a huge explosion of energy that destroyed the entire room and sent them all flying upwards. They all ended up landing on the top of the lookout. Piccolo slowly floated upwards and stared at all of them lying on the ground.

"I'm an experienced fighter." Piccolo said to them. "Cheap tricks won't work with me."

"Then how about raw power." A voice said from behind Piccolo. He turned around and a fist hit him in the face and sent him skidding across the ground. The punch was thrown by Gohan, and Bardock stood behind him. Gohan quickly hopped over to where Piccolo landed and got on top of him. He grabbed both of Piccolo's wrists and pinned them to the ground. "Piccolo! Snap out of it! It's me, Gohan!" Piccolo's head whipped around and he snarled as he tried to get free. He seemed more like a wild beast than the cool collected fighter he was just a moment ago. "Piccolo! Look at me!" Piccolo's eyes meant Gohan's. The two just stared at each other, and Piccolo's thrashing about began to slow down. He stopped snarling and the darkness in his eyes slowly began to fade.

"Gohan." Piccolo said in surprise. Piccolo looked at how Gohan was sitting on top of him and pinning him down. "Gohan, why are you on top of me like this?"

"Piccolo, are you back to normal now?" Piccolo gave a sigh.

"Yes, I'm back."

"Okay." Gohan let go of Piccolo's wrists and stood up. Piccolo stood up as well and looked at the giant hole in the floor of the lookout. He then noticed the others all lying in pain. Bardock was busy giving Dende a Senzu Bean so he could heal the others.

"I suppose I did this?" Piccolo asked Gohan.

"I don't know. I wasn't here, but my guess is yes." Piccolo looked back at Gohan. "Piccolo, what happened?"

"I guess you could say that I was forced to confront the demons of my past. Hey!" Piccolo yelled to the others as they begun to get healed. "Sorry about all that, but whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger." They had all been healed and Trunks and Goten quickly walked over to Piccolo.

"Sorry!" Trunks yelled at him. "That's it! You almost killed us!"

"Yeah!" Goten added in. "You were scary too."

"Well…" Piccolo began to say to them. "…let me tell the two of you a little something. If I got to train you without your mothers interfering, then that's what it would have been like."

"You're insane." Trunks said to him as he turned his back to him and walked away.

"Gohan, you trained with Piccolo, right? Was it really that hard?"

"Those were the roughest months of my life." Gohan said to him. Goten glanced back over at Piccolo, he then turned around and ran over to talk to Trunks. Piccolo then told Gohan the whole story about the black star dragonballs and his new power. "So why'd you bring them here then?"

"I was counting on Gotenks to put me down if I got out of control. Looking back, I should have made them fuse before I started to absorb them. Do you think the boys will be alright?"

"I think they'll get over it quickly enough. They know it wasn't the real you."

"Actually, that was the original me."

"Not to me it wasn't." Gohan said with a smile, but then his look got more serious. "Piccolo, why did you even go after such a dangerous power? And why didn't you tell me?"

"You want to know the truth?" Piccolo asked him coldly.

"Of course I do."

"I didn't think you'd have been up to it."

"What do you mean? I'm plenty strong."

"Gohan, if I hadn't regained control of myself back there, could you have killed me?"

"No! I could never do that!"

"That's exactly my point Gohan. I was your enemy and you weren't willing to kill me. This isn't just some training session anymore; these are life and death situations!"

"I know! I'm not a kid anymore; I don't need you telling me these things." Gohan was starting to become defensive with his speech. "This is about my dad, right? Well I can beat him, and I will!"

"But what if he doesn't change back! You don't have what it takes to kill Goku!"

"It won't come to that!"

"It might!"

"It won't!"

"We don't know that!" Gohan and Piccolo both became quiet and a breeze blew across the two of them. Everyone else was able to hear their argument because it had gotten so loud. Piccolo lowered his voice. "Only you and Gotenks have enough power to stop Goku, but neither of you have the heart for it. The only ones that can take this all the way are Vegeta and myself. Gohan, I don't want to kill Goku, you do know that don't you?"

"Of course, but…"

"Gohan, you're kind, that's why you can't fight your father with your all. But it's not a weakness, it's your kindness that's made you as strong as you are, that desire you have to protect others. I don't want you thinking that I'm ashamed of you because you can't do this." There was more silence between the two.

"You might be right, about everything. But I'm still going to fight my father. If it does come down to the point of you having to finish him off, I won't stop you."


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40: Vegeta's Special Training**

It was about a week after the incident with the black star dragonballs that Vegeta stopped by the lookout. He was dressed in his usual blue training clothes with white boots and white glove on his right hand. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder with the capsule corp. emblem on it. Vegeta landed in front of a meditating Piccolo. When Bardock and Raditz saw Vegeta land they went over to him as well. Piccolo opened his eyes and stood up.

"Vegeta." Piccolo said to greet him. Vegeta's brow furrowed and he spoke angrily to the namekian warrior.

"You used the time room, didn't you?" Piccolo smiled and shook his head no. "Don't lie to me namek, you're way stronger than you were a week ago!"

"I found that Kami kept some power hidden from me back when I fused with him. I've just finally claimed it, that's all."

"So long as you didn't use the time chamber yet."

"What's in the backpack, your lunch?" Vegeta smiled at him and put the backpack on the ground.

"A secret weapon." Vegeta opened it up and proudly revealed what was inside.

"Secret weapon huh?" Piccolo grabbed the item lying on top and held it up for everyone to see. It was a sandwich.

"It really is his lunch." Raditz said in awe. "Does eating it raise your power level?"

"Give me that!" Vegeta yelled as he grabbed the sandwich. "The woman must have put that in there. I'm talking about this." Vegeta reached in and pulled out a cylinder a foot long and 6 inches wide. There were 3 more identical ones in the backpack, along with what appeared to be an extremely thin keyboard of some sort. "This is it." Vegeta said with pride once more.

"So." Bardock said unimpressed. "What is it?" Vegeta put the cylinder back into the backpack, along with the sandwich, and slung it over his back. He began walking off, the others naturally followed him. "Well?"

"It's a go anywhere gravity field. I had Bulma make it for me. Two years of normal training wouldn't be enough to take down Kakarot, but two years of heavy gravity training might."

"How does it work?" Piccolo asked.

"Simple, put the four cylinders in the ground and turn them on with the control pad. An enhanced gravity field is then generated between them; Simple to set up and operate. We should really get some good use out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber now."

"I was expecting a little more from you Vegeta."

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

"This is just the same old thing, but I guess it will have to do."

"Just what were you expecting, some miracle pill that will make Kakarot all better? Well that isn't going to happen, we need to beat some sense into him, and this will make sure that we're strong enough to do it."

"I suppose you're right." The four of them had reached the door of the time chamber by this point.

"Hey." Bardock said to them. "I don't suppose we could use it too?"

"There's a two person limit to the time chamber. Any more than that and it loses it's time difference. You guys can go in after us."

"How long will you be in there?" Raditz asked curiously.

"Probably the whole two years."

"Two years!" Raditz said in disbelief. "But you'll miss the fight with Kakarot!"

"Relax, two years in there is only two days out here. There will be plenty of time." Vegeta and Piccolo stepped inside the time chamber and closed the door behind them. "I sure hope Popo was right about the time we spent in here being reset. If he's wrong, then we're stuck here for awhile.

"We'll know when we're done training. Let's go further away from the door before we set up the device."

"Good idea, we don't want a stray blast hitting it." The two of them flew about a mile away and landed. Vegeta took the devices out and set up a square with them, each side was about 100 meters long. He then took out the control pad and set it on the ground. "This thing can generate up to 1,000g's. I doubt we'll need that much, but it's nice to know that it's there."

"I agree, so what's this special training you have in store for me?"

"What are you talking about?" Piccolo gave him a confused look.

"I thought you had some sort of training to give me so I could kill Goku if it becomes necessary."

"Fool." Vegeta said with a smile. "I'll be fighting Kakarot myself." Piccolo smiled to himself.

"I see. I misunderstood your point then. Still though, do you have a plan for while we're in here?"

"I'm going to reach Super Saiyan 3." Vegeta said surely of himself. Piccolo didn't share his confidence though.

"Goku had 7 years in the otherworld and you've got 2 years in here, you don't really think you can pull it off do you?"

"Kakarot went from 1 to 3 in those seven years. I just need to go from 2 to 3. Also, I think he once told me something about it being impossible to ever achieve Super Saiyan 3 in the normal world. It was something about other dimensions not straining the body as much, making it possible to achieve it for the first time."

"Goku was also dead when he learned it though."

"But Gotenks wasn't, and he learned it in here."

"Okay fine, you've got a goal, now can we get started?"

"Sure." Vegeta kneeled down in front of the control pad and began hitting buttons. He stopped though and perked his head up. "You know, I just thought of something."

"Hmm?"

"The two of us have never actually fought before." Vegeta turned his head around and smiled at Piccolo. He was pleased to see Piccolo smiling right back at him.

"You're right, we've been on opposite sides before, but we've never fought. Still though, a fight with you wouldn't be fair right now." Vegeta got an annoyed look in his eyes.

"Trying to back down?" He retorted with a smile.

"No, I'll just make it fair first." Piccolo held up his left arm and stared at it. He then shot off some eye beams and severed his own left arm off. Piccolo winced as he did this, but he still quickly burned the flesh together with a quick ki blast to prevent further bleeding. He looked back up at Vegeta and smiled at him. "Now it's fair, both of us have only our right arm to use, I can regenerate my left arm back when we're done." Vegeta chuckled to himself and then began to laugh out loud.

"You just gave up the only advantage you had." Piccolo tossed off his cape and turban while Vegeta stood up.

"Let's see you back up those claims."

"With pleasure."


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41: The Morning**

The next day Piccolo and Vegeta came walking out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. They both went to the surface of the lookout where they found everyone. Raditz and Bardock were sparring while Mr. Popo and Dende watched. Bardock's eyes glanced over at them and Raditz's fist made its way towards his face. Despite the distraction, Bardock still caught the punch.

"They're back." Bardock said. Raditz looked over as well, but he then got punched in the face by Bardock.

"What the hell dad!" Raditz yelled at him.

"You shouldn't have let your guard down. Now quit whining and come on." Bardock walked over to them followed by a grumbling Raditz. Dende and Mr. Popo were already talking to them. Piccolo looked the same after his year of training, but Vegeta's hair was yellow, though there was no aura around him.

"Wow Vegeta!" Dende said excitedly. "You're a Full Power Super Saiyan!" Vegeta smirked to himself and began to walk away. He stopped briefly in front of Bardock and Raditz.

"We're done." He said to them. "You two can use the time chamber now."

"But…" Raditz began rather confused. "…it's only been a day. I thought you were going to use it for two days."

"I don't need to." Vegeta said rather proud of himself. He began to walk away again.

"Vegeta!" Piccolo yelled to him. "Are you sure you don't want to use the other year?"

"You can go ahead and use it if you want, but we both know that I don't need to." Vegeta then flew off towards home. Bardock and Raditz both used it after that for two years. When they emerged, they were both considerably stronger, but neither of them had obtained the form of a Super Saiyan. Piccolo went back in as well, though he went in alone this time. He spent 11 months in there this time, figuring that an extra month wouldn't be of any use, but he would still be able to re-enter if he needed to for any reason.

The days passed and soon it was the morning of the Kakarot Games. Gohan woke up early that morning. He didn't get much sleep the night before. He could hear his mom humming in the kitchen as she made breakfast. Gohan looked over at Goten who was still sound asleep. He and his brother were being forced to share a room since Bulma and her family had moved in. The reconstruction of the Capsule Corp. building was coming along nicely, but it was still going to be another week until they were finished. On top of that, they definitely weren't going to be working today, nobody was. Gohan opened up his closet and took out his fighting uniform. He decided that he would wear the same orange clothes his father had always worn all these years. Deep down he hoped that this might bring his dad back to his senses, but he quickly dismissed this thought and focused on the reality of the situation. He opened the door and began to walk down the hallway towards the kitchen. As he did, the spare bedroom door opened up and Vegeta walked out. He glared at Gohan as they both just stood there in the hall. Though the two very rarely talked while Vegeta had been staying there, Gohan knew what Vegeta thought about him fighting his father and couldn't help but be angered by it. He had gotten sick and tired of everyone thinking that he wouldn't be able to fight his dad. Vegeta finally broke the silence.

"I need to get to the bathroom." Gohan got a surprised look on his face and moved out of the way.

"Oh!" He quickly said. "Right, sorry." Vegeta walked past him without another word. 'Maybe I'm looking too far into this. Vegeta just isn't the social type.' Gohan made his way into the kitchen.

"Good morning Gohan!" Chi-Chi said far too cheerfully to him.

"Umm, good morning mom." Gohan then noticed Bulma sitting at the table sipping a cup of coffee.

"It's such a beautiful day, don't you think so Gohan?" She was right too, the sun was shining brightly through the windows and the birds could be heard chirping sweetly outside. Gohan sat down at the table.

"Umm, yeah."

"I'll have breakfast ready for you in just a moment." Gohan was beginning to get worried about his mom's unusually good mood, considering the circumstances of the day.

"Mom, you don't have to act like this."

"Act like what dear?" Chi-Chi said while smiling. Gohan just stared at her dumbfounded. "I've grown used to this sort of thing by now, so I'm done with worrying. I just know that you'll bring your father back and everything will go back to normal, so I figured why even bother with worrying this time."

"Now you're worrying me." Bulma snickered at the comment. Everyone else in the house slowly woke up and came to breakfast. The meal was eaten in relative silence. At the end of it there was nothing left to do, but go to the arena.

"Be careful out there you two." Bulma said to her sons while hugging them.

"We'll be careful." Future Trunks reassured her.

"Goten…" Chi-Chi began after she finished hugging him. "…now I'm letting you go to this, but only to watch! You leave the fighting to your brother, okay?"

"Yes mom." Goten said as he rolled his eyes. She then stood in front of Gohan. She stared at him and seemed to be okay, but then her eyes began to water. She quickly broke out into tears and threw her arms around Gohan's neck.

"My baby! Waah! You shouldn't be fighting; you should be studying for your test next week!"

"Mom." Gohan said embarrassed. He then changed his tone to a reassuring one. "Mom, I'll be back tonight, and I'll bring dad with me." Chi-Chi let go of Gohan and began to regain her composure.

"I know you will son."

"Vegeta!" Bulma called out to him as he was walking towards the door. "Give him hell." Vegeta stopped and turned around. He walked over to Bulma. He stood in front of her for a few seconds, just staring at her in the eyes, but his gaze still remained the cold one it always was. Suddenly though, he put his arm around her back and pulled her in close. The two of them kissed passionately as if nobody else was there. While they may have acted like no one else was there, they still all were, and they were staring in shock.

"Woooaahhh." Goten said in bewilderment. "How do they breathe?"

"Goten!" Chi-Chi quickly yelled. "Cover your eyes!" After about ten seconds more, Vegeta pulled away and spoke to her.

"Tonight we'll go out to celebrate. I'll even wear one of those tuxedo things you keep insisting that I'd look good in." Vegeta then walked out the door of the house. Bulma finally noticed everyone else staring at her and began to blush intensely.

"Umm…" Bulma began. "…shouldn't you all get going?" Future Trunks quickly picked up on his mom's embarrassment.

"Yeah." He said. "Come on guys, let's go." They all turned around and left the house then. Outside the house, Videl was waiting for Gohan. She was leaning up against the wall, so everyone passed by her without noticing. As Gohan walked by though, she grabbed his arm.

"Videl? What are you doing here?" Gohan said surprised.

"Can we talk, alone?" Videl said to him.

"Sure." Gohan turned around to face the others. "You guys go on ahead; I'll catch up to you." They all did as Gohan requested, and went on ahead without him. "Videl, why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you. I'm not going to go to the fight."

"That's good; it's too dangerous for you."

"But be careful. Your father is a really good fighter."

"I know that better than anyone else."

"I'm going to be really upset if you get yourself killed." Videl was beginning to tear up. "Last time you went off without me and …" Gohan leaned in and silenced her with a tender kiss on the lips.

"I need to get going." Videl wiped her tears away and gave a nod. Gohan slowly floated into the air, he then turned around and left for the arena. Once Gohan was out of sight, Videl turned around and went inside the house.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42: Pre-Game Elimination**

Gohan arrived at the arena; it was the same location that the Cell Games had been held at. People figured that Goku most likely did this to try and stir the people's bad memories of Cell and relate them to the current situation. The arena was similar to that used at the Cell Games, except it was larger, had no pillars in the corners, and was elevated a good four feet above the ground. As Gohan neared the arena, he noticed an awful lot of people were around. He spotted his friends and landed near them. Naturally, Kid Trunks, Future Trunks, Goten, and Vegeta were there. Krillin and 18 were also with them.

"Hey guys, what are all these people doing here?" Gohan asked them.

"Beats the heck out of me." Krillin said dully.

"Isn't it obvious?" 18 said to them. "Look at them; they're all fighters and reporters. They all expect to fight Goku and beat him and become famous in the process." Just then Hercule came running up to Gohan. He looked around to make sure that nobody was looking at him, but being the World Champion, people were naturally watching him. Even so, he had shaken the reporters that were following him and that seemed to be good enough.

"Gohan, I need to talk to you." Hercule said. "All these people here need to get lost. They don't stand a chance against Goku. We need to get them out of here and the reporters too."

"I agree." Gohan said to him. "You're going to stick around though, aren't you?"

"Well of course, it would look bad if the champion of the world ran away."

"Maybe we can get you to make an announcement and get the rest of them to leave."

"Yeah, but then they'll want to know why you guys are staying."

"Simple…" 18 said. "…tell them that we'll beat them up if we don't leave."

"Actually…" Gohan pondered aloud. "…that's not a bad idea 18. Hey champ, come with me and follow my lead." Gohan hopped up onto the arena and Hercule followed him. "Can I have your attention please?" Gohan yelled into the crowd. Nobody seemed to notice him though, and those that did didn't pay him and heed. "Will you all please listen to me?" Gohan could hear the murmurs coming from some of the closer fighters.

"Who does this guy think he is?" "Just some nobody trying to tell us what to do." "Just ignore him." "Loser." Gohan sighed in disappointment. Hercule on the other hand was boiling with anger. He yelled fiercely at the crowd.

"Will you all just shut up!" The crowd instantly got quiet and stared at Hercule. "Ahem, thank you. I have an important announcement, you all need to leave." Everyone stared at him in confusion. "This is a serious issue and not a place for rookie fighters!"

"Hey! I'm not a rookie!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

"Will you just hold on! Now, the person beside me is a sparring partner of mine, he's not as good as me, but he's still okay. So, if you want to fight Kakarot when he shows up, then you must put up a good fight against him. If you can't defend yourself against him, then you obviously aren't as tough as me and wouldn't stand a chance against Kakarot." There were murmurs of discontent in the crowd, but a few of the bolder fighters began to mock the others and soon they had all agreed to the conditions.

"Nice going champ." Gohan whispered to Hercule.

"Thanks. Now make sure you take them all out with just one hit, but make your friends look good. Nobody will argue about leaving if they get beat in one hit."

"Sure thing." Gohan got up into the arena and the first fighter came up.

"Now remember, you don't need to beat him, just put up a good fight and I'll let you stay." The fighter gave a nod to Hercule and got ready. "Begin!" The fighter charged at Gohan and was hit by an extremely light tap of a punch and sent flying out of the ring. "You're not fit to fight, next!" So the process went until Future Trunks was finally up.

"You're not going to actually fight me, are you?" Trunks said a little worriedly.

"Of course not, just come at me fast and I'll dodge you. Hercule will stop the fight then."

"Okay." Future Trunks did just that and after a few seconds Hercule's voice could be heard yelling for them to stop.

"You did good enough." Hercule declared. "You can stay." And so the process went, with many fighters being eliminated by Gohan. Krillin and 18 had come up and been let through, but now Vegeta was up.

"Hey!" Someone yelled from the crowd. "He's only got one good arm! He shouldn't be fighting!" There were more yells of agreements from the crowd.

"Be quiet!" Hercule yelled at them. "If he's no good then he'll be sent packing like the others." In the arena, Gohan smiled at Vegeta and spoke to him.

"Don't worry Vegeta, I'll go easy on you." Vegeta glared at him.

"Begin!" Vegeta charged forward quicker than Gohan was expecting and elbowed him in the face. Gohan was knocked onto his back as he slid away. "You see that! He's done the best yet! That proves my system works, so all of you need to shut up from now on!" Vegeta walked over to Gohan.

"You still want to take it easy on me?" He said to Gohan as he sat up. Vegeta then walked over to stand with the others who had been passed, which was of course, only the Z-Fighters. The process continued, and though there was some complaining when Goten and Kid Trunks were up, it quickly died down when they passed. Piccolo, Bardock, and Raditz had also shown up and knew what was going on and they were passed as well.

"Just one more left after this guy!" Hercule yelled to Gohan.

"Really? Just one more, but I haven't faced Tien or Yamcha yet. Aren't they coming?" Gohan quickly got a ring out on the guy. "Okay! Let's get this over with!" Gohan said while dusting his pants off a little.

"You might want to get a look at me." The fighter said to him.

"Yeah, right." Gohan said without paying and attention to the fighter. He then noticed the look on the faces of his friends. Gohan slowly lifted his head up and faced the final fighter. "Ah!"

"Hello Gohan, my name is Cooler, I don't believe we've met yet." In front of Gohan stood Cooler in his 4th form.

"You…" Just then Hercule yelled for the match to begin. Gohan was taken by surprise, and though he dodged Cooler's attacks, he wasn't able to counterattack. Hercule quickly yelled for them to stop and Cooler did.

"That's all!" Hercule yelled. "The rest of you, get out of here! It's for your own good!" The crowd of ordinary fighters slowly dispersed and only Gohan, his friends, Hercule, and Cooler were left to fight. Gohan rushed over to Hercule.

"Mr. Satan, why did you pass him?"

"What do you mean Gohan? You pretended to fight with him, so I figured he was a friend of yours that I never met and passed him."

"He's no friend, and I wasn't pretending."

"Cooler!" Krillin yelled to him. "Why are you here?" Cooler walked over to Krillin and the others and hopped off the arena. He began to walk closer to Krillin.

"That's far enough!" Piccolo yelled at him. Cooler stared at all of them.

"I'm here…" Cooler slowly said. "…to fight, Kakarot, same as you." He then turned his back to them and walked away.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43: Kakarot Games Begin**

The regular fighters and all but one cameraman and reporter had vacated the area. Despite the unexpected appearance of Cooler, they were all ready to begin. There was one problem though.

"Hey guys, where's Goku?" Krillin said aloud.

"He's not even on the planet." Raditz responded.

"How would you know?"

"I've gotten really good at this sensing energy thing. I've practiced it, a lot."

"Well if he's not on Earth, where is he?" Nobody had an answer. "Hmm, I wonder. King Kai! Are you there? Can you hear me?" King Kai had been up on the Grand Kai's planet enjoying a nap when Krillin's yelling suddenly woke him up.

"I knew I should have cut the connection when I went to sleep." King Kai mumbled to himself. "What is it; I was in the middle of something very important."

"Sorry to disturb you King Kai, but we don't know where Goku is."

"Hmm, it's not like Goku to miss a fight. I'll see if I can't find him." King Kai began waving his antennae around in the air. "Let's see, is he over here? No, he's not there."

"Come on King Kai."

"Have some patience! I'm doing the best I can." His antennae moved around some more and then stopped. "I'm picking something up."

"Is it Goku?"

"I don't know, but it seems to be hopping from one planet to the next. It seems to be heading for Earth. It's getting really close now."

"I can sense Kakarot!" Raditz yelled. Just then, Goku appeared in the center of the arena with two of his fingers on his forehead. The mark of Majinn was still on his forehead, and he was still wearing his blue gi with the yellow pants, black boots, and black belt tied around his waist.

"Sorry I'm late everyone, I guess I overslept." Goku said to them all. He looked around and saw Cooler standing on the opposite side of the arena as the others. "Cooler, I'm glad you came."

"I wouldn't miss this for anything Kakarot." Cooler said to him.

"Good, but you may have to wait for your turn."

"That suits me fine." The cameraman had the camera zoomed in on Goku, but then zoomed out and focused it on Hercule.

"Mr. Satan." the reporter began. "Would you care to tell us which of your many awesome moves you might use to defeat him?" Hercule seemed to think for a little before responding to the man.

"Well, I was thinking of letting these other guys give it a shot first. I mean if I go first he'll be finished in two seconds and that'd be pretty boring. If I let the others go first, I can see how they fight and then give them some pointers on how they can be better like me."

"I see. That's very generous of you Mr. Satan."

"I know, I know, ha ha ha. Um, remember though, things could get dangerous, so if they do, you guys get to safety, okay?"

"Do you hear that folks at home? Mr. Satan is so dedicated to protecting us that he advised us to leave, but you don't need to worry. We'll be staying right here until the very end, no matter what happens." Meanwhile, Goku continued to look the outside of the ring. Something seemed to be bothering him. He finally spoke up about it.

"Where are Tien and Yamcha? I wanted to fight Tiencha again. Without his Mejinn power, he'd be even weaker than last time and I'd tear him apart. It would have been a lot of fun."

"They're not here." Krillin yelled back to Goku.

"What a shame, if you all fail and I destroy humanity, they'll only have themselves to blame. So who's first, how about you Krillin?"

"You've got to be out of your mind."

"I'm first." Everyone looked in surprise at Raditz as he hopped up into the ring.

"You?" Goku said mockingly. "What can a weakling like you hope to accomplish?" Raditz growled.

"Go ahead, just keep pushing my buttons. I know what will make me transform into a Super Saiyan!" Everyone stared in shock at Raditz's declaration. "I learned how to sense energy and suppress my own in the pendulum room. I was on the planet Namek. Countless times I was spotted and killed. But I didn't give up. I got better at it. I eventually got so good at it that I tailed Vegeta throughout his entire ordeal. He never once even noticed. You didn't either. I was there when Vegeta died and when Krillin died. I saw your transform for the first time. I didn't stop there though. I had Mr. Popo reset it and then I saw Vegeta transform for the first time. I then watched Gohan transform into a Super Saiyan 2 for the first time. I've figured it out. I know what will push me over the edge. There's something people do and say to me. It drives me mad. One of these times, I'll be pushed over the edge and transform, just like prince Vegeta did."

"I don't care."

"What?"

"I don't care. Now start the fight."

"Fine! Here I come!" Raditz charged at Goku and swung at his head. Goku leaned back and dodged the punch. He then kicked Raditz in the stomach. Raditz fell to his knees while clutching his gut. "Ghhaaa!" Raditz gasped for air.

"Uncle Raditz!" Goten yelled as he made a dash for the ring.

"Stay back!" Bardock yelled. "He made this choice. We must not interfere." Bardock had that look in his eye. It was a look he got when he confidently said something. It wasn't just that he was confident about what he said, but it was as if he knew with absolute certainty that he was right.

"Big brother Raditz." Goku said as he walked leisurely behind him. "It's pathetic that a weakling like you was ever stronger than me." Goku grabbed Raditz's hair and pulled his head back. Goku leaned in close and whispered in Raditz's ear. "You're not even a Super Saiyan, and you challenged me, a Super Saiyan 3. You're even dumber than you are weak." Goku slammed Raditz's head into the ground. He then pulled it back up. Raditz just let his arms hang limply at his side. His face was all bloody and he was dazed. "I can tell you've been training hard, but what you don't seem to get is this. No matter how hard you train, you will always be weak and pathetic. You sicken me." Goku let go of Raditz's hair. Before Raditz could fall to the ground though, Goku kicked him in the chest. Raditz went sliding across the arena and fell off of the edge. Goku stood back up. "Come on people! I want some strong fighters up here. No more weak trash. Send in the best you've got!" Goku was staring directly at Gohan.

"Bardock." Piccolo said as he reached behind his sash and pulled out a Senzu Bean. "Give this to Raditz." Piccolo flicked him the bean. Bardock then casually walked over to Raditz and fed him the bean. He then helped his beaten son back over towards the others."

"Raditz." Gohan said to his battered uncle. "What were you thinking?"

"I had to try." He said sounding rather depressed. "Just like you." Gohan focused his attention back on Goku and leapt high into the air. He flipped numerous times before landing in a crouching position not far from Goku. He slowly stood up and continued to stare at Goku.

"I see you're wearing my old outfit."

"That's right. It's an outfit that only well intentioned fighters can wear. That's why you changed your outfit, right?"

"I think you're reading into things too much"

"Maybe, it doesn't matter anymore though. I'm going to beat you back to your senses dad."

"Just do your best Gohan."


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44: Kakarot vs. Gohan**

Goku and Gohan stood only a few feet apart as they got ready for their fight. Without even saying a word, Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan and then immediately into a Super Saiyan 2. He stopped there though. Gohan frowned.

"What do are you doing? Why didn't you go to Super Saiyan 3?" Gohan said to him.

"I don't need it to deal with you." Goku rushed forward and began to rapidly attack Gohan. Gohan dodged and blocked and attacked back, yet couldn't seem to hit Goku. Gohan had a serious look on his face. He threw a punch at Goku's face, but Goku dodged it and delivered a punch to Gohan's gut. Gohan flinched a little and Goku hit Gohan in the face with another punch and then a kick to the gut. He tried to hit Gohan again, but he dodged this time and they resumed their fight.

"Oh man, this is bad." Krillin said. "Goku must have gotten stronger while he was in space. He's so strong now that he can go even with Gohan while just a Super Saiyan 2!"

"I don't think that's it Krillin." Future Trunks said while keeping his eyes fixated on the fight.

"Yah!" Gohan yelled as he landed a punch on Goku's face and knocked him back. Gohan ran forward. Goku did a quick sweep and tripped Gohan as he charged. Gohan twirled himself in midair and kicked Goku in the back. Goku went hurtling through the air. Gohan stuck his hands over his head and began to power up a Masenko. "Masenko!" Gohan held onto the blast as Goku was still in midair. From the sidelines, everyone looked on with hope in their eyes as Gohan had his Masenko charging. Though none of them had enough time to say it, they could all see it, and they all thought it.

'He's hesitating.' Goku landed and quickly looked up at Gohan.

"Ha!" Gohan fired his Masenko at Goku, but he quickly leapt to the side and fired a blast of his own at Gohan. Gohan's eyes widened and he barely stepped out of the way as the blast went right past his head. While Gohan was still preoccupied, Goku rushed forward and began pummeling Gohan. Goku rained down blow after blow on Gohan. Goku went to punch Gohan again, but Gohan caught his arm and held him there. Gohan was sweating now and breathing angrily. "That's enough."

"Lose your nerve son?" Goku threw another punch at Gohan, but he caught that arm as well.

"I said that's enough." Gohan put pressure on Goku's arms and forced him down to his knees. "How long are you going to keep this up dad? How long!"

"Until I win." Goku struggled against him some more. "He then stopped and looked into Gohan's eyes. "Do you really think you can win?"

"I am winning."

"You think you're winning? You aren't even close to beating me!" Goku powered up into a Super Saiyan 3 and head butted Gohan in the gut. Gohan flinched and lost his grip. Goku back flipped away and kicked Gohan in the jaw while he did it. Goku clasped his hands together. He began to power up a Kamehameha. Gohan put his hands together and did the same. "Kamehameha!"

"Kamehameha!" The two blasts shot towards each other. As soon as the two blasts collided, Goku vanished. Gohan's blast pushed forward against nothing and shot into the air. By the time Gohan saw that his father wasn't there, it was too late. Goku was behind him, powering up a brand new Kamehameha.

"Kamehameha." Gohan turned around just in time to see the color of the blast change from blue to red. "Times 10!" Gohan was completely engulfed by the red Kamehameha.

"What the heck was that!" Krillin could be heard yelling from the sides. The blast faded and Gohan was standing right where he had been.

"I'll beat you!" Gohan said as he threw a punch at Goku. Goku blocked it and then hit Gohan in the face with a backhand.

"No, you won't." Goku said sternly. "I know that Kamehameha x10 hurt you, but it was quickly charged; not even close to what a full power one could do. I also know that you've still got plenty of strength left, but you continue to get hit and can't even touch me." Goku looked Gohan directly in the face. "You're an embarrassment, I'm done with you." He then powered back down to his base form and started to walk away from Gohan.

"Hey! Our fight isn't over yet!"

"Then attack me while my guard is down." Gohan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Ha!" Gohan stuck his hand out and shot an energy blast at Goku. Goku didn't move an inch, but the blast missed and hit the ground over a foot away from Goku's feet.

"That's what I thought; now get out of my arena." Gohan looked at the ground and tears of frustration began to form in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall.

"Then kill me." Goku turned around to face Gohan. "Come on then dad, kill me."

Back at the son house, Chi-Chi was in a frantic panic at hearing what Gohan had just said.

"What's he doing!" Chi-Chi yelled. "Why is he telling Goku to kill him!"

Back at the arena, the reporter turned to Hercule to ask him some questions.

"Mr. Satan…" the reporter began. "…did he just call him dad?"

"Well uh…" Hercule began with about as much grace as a beaver on roller skates. "…it's complicated. You see, this Kakarot fellow is actually having his mind controlled by the real bad guy. I've assembled an elite team of fighters to help me track down the person responsible for this. We don't really want to kill him, just bring him back to his senses. That's why this is going to be a lot trickier than fighting Cell was."

"I see. Mr. Satan, your compassion and dedication for the people of this planet knows no bounds."

"Well gosh; I wouldn't say that, aha ha ha."

Back in the arena, Goku began to approach Gohan.

"What did you say?" Goku asked him.

"I said to kill me. That is what you want, isn't it?"

"I was going to let you off easy, but now…"

"Now what? Huh? What now? Piccolo, Vegeta, and all the others, they doubted me. They all thought that I wouldn't be able to fight my own father. Turns out they're right; I can't bring myself to kill you. But you can't kill me either." Goku walked up to Gohan and got right in his face. He grabbed Gohan's shirt and tossed him over to his friends.

"I told you to get out of my arena. Now who's next?" Everyone quickly crowded around Gohan.

"Gohan, are you okay? Krillin asked him. "Here, let me get you a Senzu Bean."

"Don't bother." Gohan said.

"But, didn't that attack hurt?" Gohan nodded a yes to Krillin.

"Just save it for someone else."

"What was that move that Goku did?" 18 asked.

"I don't know. He must have just made it up. Listen, can you all just leave me alone for a little. I don't feel like talking."

"Yeah, sure." 18 said as Gohan walked to an empty side of the arena. Gohan sat down and leaned his back against the wall of the arena. He let his head slump down and looked like he was completely alone in the world.

"He feels like he's let us all down." Future Trunks said aloud to the others.

"No." Piccolo said. "I'd say he feels more like he let himself down."

"Hey!" Goku yelled from the arena. "We've still got some fun left to have."

"Don't worry Goku; you'll get your next opponent."

"That's Kakarot."

"I'm going to enjoy beating him back to his senses." Piccolo said as he grabbed his cape and turban, preparing to take them off.

"Wait." Vegeta quickly said. "You shouldn't fight him next."

"That's right." Kid Trunks added in. "Me and Goten have the best chance of winning this.

"I don't think so. Gotenks against Kakarot would end up an even bigger disaster than Gohan did."

"Well…" Goten said as he thought to himself. "…then who?"

"Me."

"Aww, come on dad." Kid Trunks pleaded with his father.

"No, I'll take care of this." Vegeta stepped forward and lightly hopped up onto the edge of the arena. He walked towards the center of the ring and stopped halfway.

"Vegeta." Goku said happily. "Even if you had both of your arms you wouldn't stand a chance against me. Besides, I thought you gave up on fighting."

"The bond between us is one that no one else here has. It is an everlasting rivalry. So long as either one of us exists, the other will never cease to try and surpass him. Even death itself can not end our competition."

"Vegeta, you said I was the best. You admitted that you can't beat me."

"Nobody stays the best forever. It's time for me to claim that spot and put you back in your place."


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45: The Warm Up**

Vegeta had surprised just about everyone by stepping up to fight Goku instead of sending Gotenks in.

"Before we get started…" Vegeta began. "…I want to know about that red Kamehameha of yours."

"Sure, it's my Kamehameha x10. I couldn't get over the feeling of immense power I had while I used Kaio-Ken as a Super Saiyan 3, but I knew I couldn't go back to that. So, practiced and prepared a new move. The Kamehameha x10. I harness a Kaio-Ken in just my hands while I'm charging up a Kamehameha; I've found that I can go as high as ten times a normal Kaio-Ken, hence the name."

"I see. I'll make sure to avoid it."

"Heh, so Vegeta, I see you're a full power super saiyan. What makes you think that will be enough?"

"Why don't you just try me and find out."

"Fair enough." Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan and charged at Vegeta. He threw a punch at Vegeta, but was quickly hit in the face and knocked to the side. Goku leapt away from Vegeta in case he tried to follow up his hit, but he didn't. "I guess I should have expected that, but it's still not even a match for level two." Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan 2. He charged at Vegeta again and unleashed a flurry of attacks against him. Vegeta parried his attacks as Goku chased him about the ring. The punches whizzed by his head and he continued leading Goku around. Then Goku threw a punch at Vegeta's midsection. Vegeta quickly twisted himself so that the punch landed on his bad arm. He then quickly spun around and nailed Goku in the back of the head with a spinning kick. "Gah!" Goku hit the floor with a thud and bounced away. Vegeta smirked to himself.

"Heh." Vegeta grunted to himself as he noticed a small stream of blood on Goku's chin. Goku stood up and faced Vegeta before wiping the blood off of his chin.

"Vegeta, there's no way a full power super saiyan can beat a Super Saiyan 2. How are you keeping up with me?"

"Keeping up with you? I'm beyond you, the only reason you may think that you're keeping up with me is because I've only got one arm to use. But let me assure you, I'm not a full powered super saiyan."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Only the namek knows the truth." Off to the side, the others all glanced over at Piccolo.

"Truth?" Future Trunks said obviously confused.

"What's he mean?" Kid Trunks added.

"Yeah, tell us." Goten chimed in.

"He asked me to keep it a secret." Piccolo replied to them.

"Don't sweat it green man." Vegeta said from the ring. "I'll tell everyone myself, right now. I'm not a full power super saiyan. Maybe this will clue you all in." A small spark of lightning quickly appeared and crackled around Vegeta, it then disappeared just as quickly. "Do you get it now?"

"Not really." Krillin said from the side.

"I am a full power super saiyan 2!" Everyone in the group, except for Piccolo was in complete shock.

"Is he telling the truth?" Piccolo gave a nod and simply replied with.

"Uh-huh." Even Goku was surprised by Vegeta's announcement. The only ones who didn't seem to be startled were Hercule, the cameraman, and the reporter.

"Well…" Vegeta said rather proudly of himself. "…what do you think of that?" Goku regained himself and smiled.

"Not bad, I guess I'll have to go Super Saiyan 3 to beat you. As powerful as your new form is, it will still be no match for the third level of a Super Saiyan."

"You're right Kakarot." Goku laughed to himself. "It isn't."

"Then why did you even bother to try?"

"Kakarot, surely you discovered an alternate form on your way to reaching Super Saiyan 3. You must have found it before you reached it."

"I did, it was like being an Ultra Super Saiyan, except at the level of a Super Saiyan 2. I called it Mega Super Saiyan."

"I knew it." Vegeta said with a smile. "So tell me Kakarot, why did you never use your Mega Super Saiyan 2 form?"

"Because, it's just a little slower, and a little weaker, but it consumes even more energy than the Super Saiyan 3 form. It's worse in every possible way."

"That's right."

"So why bring that up?"

"I spent a year in the time chamber training. I was trying to reach the level of Super Saiyan 3. At some point during the training, I knew that it would be impossible for me to reach it in time. I could tell that I was just too far away from it."

"So you can't go Super Saiyan 3." Goku said with a smile.

"That's right, but I can go to the Mega Super Saiyan 2 level."

"You'll be on the ground unconscious within a minute, even if I don't hit you."

"You're wrong about that."

"Hmm?" Goku said as his eyes narrowed.

"I got an idea in my head though. What if I combined Full Power and the Mega form? Maybe my body would get so used to it that it wouldn't find the leap to Mega Super Saiyan 2 so bad. So I tried it out, and guess what Kakarot." Vegeta paused for a little and smiled again. "I was right." Goku started clapping his hands slowly.

"Well done Vegeta, this means I'll get to have even more fun as I pound you into the ground, because even though you've combined them, it still won't be a match for my Super Saiyan 3 form."

"We'll just see about that." Goku and Vegeta both began to power up. They were both yelling loudly and sparks were going off all around them. The Earth beneath them began to shake and clouds even began to form overhead. Lightning ripped across the skies and shot down to the ground all across the arena. From the different sides of the arena, everyone else looked on in awe. Even Gohan lifted his head up and stood up to watch them. Part of the cameraman's camera blew up and he quickly tossed it on the ground.

'Good.' Hercule thought to himself. 'That takes care of that.'

"We still have audio!" announced the cameraman.

'Darn. Well, I still better try.' "Hey, you guys get out of here right now!"

"Mr. Satan." The reporter asked wearily. "What's going on!" He then said with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. "All these lights and thunderstorms and the ground is even shaking!"

"It's a freak electrical storm and an earthquake at the same time! I'm an experienced martial artist, so I'll be fine, but you two need to get going now." Hercule shoved them away from the ring.

"But Mr. Satan…"

"Don't try pleading with me! Just go! This is a dangerous environment to be in!"

"Well, okay." The reporter and cameraman turned around and began to run. "Don't worry folks; we'll get you a visual again in no time. Until then, I'll be giving you up to the second updates from a safe distance!"

"Well that takes care of them." Hercule said to himself rather relieved. The Z-Fighters off to the side were all still watching and some had even begun cheering.

"Do it father!" Future Trunks yelled.

"Yeah! Go dad!" Kid Trunks yelled as well.

"Geez, I never thought I'd say this but." Krillin mumbled to himself. "Vegeta! Pound the stuffing out of Goku!" Vegeta continued to power up, unable to even notice the cheers at this point. Across from him though, Goku was still powering up as well. Standing alone, opposite the Z-Fighters, Cooler watched intently as well.

'Show me your max Goku.' He thought to himself. 'I have to know for sure if I can beat it!' With a final yell both fighters finished powering up. Vegeta's muscles had bulged and he looked like he was an Ultra Super Saiyan, though he was really at the Mega Super Saiyan 2 level. Across from him, Goku's hair had grown down his back and his eyebrows had vanished. The lighting stopped and the ground was no longer shaking as well. The clouds quickly vanished and all was as it was moments before. 'They're both impressive.' Cooler's eyes glanced over at Gohan. 'But I must remember my mission.' He put two of his fingers to his forehead and teleported behind Gohan. He quickly put his other hand out and placed it on Gohan's shoulder. Gohan only had enough time to turn around and see Cooler's face as the two of them vanished from the area.


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46: Find Gohan**

Just about everyone was fixated on Goku and Vegeta as they finished powering up; at least one person was not though. Cooler had grabbed Gohan and teleported off with him somewhere. Everyone was so fixated on the fight, that nobody noticed them disappear, nobody at the arena anyway.

Back at the son house, Bulma, Chi-Chi, and Videl had been watching the fight on TV. It was during Gohan's fight that there was a knock on the door. Bulma answered it since Chi-Chi and Videl were too engrossed in watching Gohan. At the door were Master Roshi, Ox King, Oolong, Puar, Turtle, Baba, Marron, and even Majinn Buu.

"Hey you guys." Bulma said to them.

"Bulma." Master Roshi began. "What are you all doing here?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"You know that whenever something like this happens we all watch it at my place. When neither you nor Chi-Chi showed up, we all decided to come here."

"Well, you're welcome to stay and watch the matches with us."

"On the TV, yeah right." Baba said with discontent in her voice as she floated in on top of her crystal ball. "You know as well as I do that it'll only be a matter of time until those cameras break."

"I guess you're right."

"Besides, I can get better angles and close ups." Baba set up her ball and they all watched the events unfold in it and on the TV, until the visual was finally lost.

"By the way, why is Majinn Buu here? I figured he would be at the match."

"Mr. Satan…" Buu began. "…said that Buu is not supposed to fight. Mr. Satan also say that Buu should protect you."

"Well I feel safer already." They had all just finished watching Vegeta and Goku power up when something caught Master Roshi's eyes.

"Hey." Master Roshi quickly said. "Did anyone just now notice what happened to Gohan?"

"What are you talking about?" Oolong said to him. "Gohan is right…" Oolong's voice trailed off. "Hey, where is Gohan? That other alien is missing too."

"He vanished with Gohan."

"You worry too much, the others will notice and go looking for him." They all continued to watch the crystal ball, but none of them seemed to notice. "Then again I've been wrong before."

"What's wrong with them!" Chi-Chi yelled furiously. "How could they not notice that my Gohan is missing!"

Back at the arena, the fight between Goku and Vegeta began. Goku charged forward. Vegeta fired a quick blast at the ground and sent smoke up between them. Goku dashed through it and then quickly swatted away another blast that Vegeta had shot at him. Goku lunged forward to throw a left punch at him. Vegeta put his left leg behind him and blocked the attack with his arm. Goku planted himself in front of Vegeta and began rapidly punching at him. Vegeta dodged and blocked the attacks with a cool focus. Goku then tried to kick out Vegeta's front leg, but Vegeta lifted it up and dodged the sweep. With his leg still in the air, he threw a front kick at Goku. Goku dodged to the side and narrowly avoided it, but Vegeta immediately followed it up with another attack. He threw a chop at Goku's face. The chop was coming in from Goku's right, but Goku leaned his head back and the tips of Vegeta's fingers just missed Goku's neck. Goku then leaned back in close and managed to land a right punch on Vegeta's face. Vegeta quickly shrugged it off and the two of them went back to their stalemate.

From the sidelines, the rest of them watched the fight, except for one of them. It was Bardock and he was being forced to watch something else. His eyes were completely open, but he saw a much different scene than that of Goku and Vegeta fighting. Instead, he saw Gohan taking a kick to the side from an enemy he had never seen before. The image faded and Bardock's eyes darted around to regain his senses. He noticed that Gohan was missing and so was Cooler. Another vision quickly flashed in his mind. Gohan was covered in blood and limping across the ground.

"No." Bardock whispered to himself as the vision faded from his sight. He looked at the others, but they were all fixated on the fight. None of them had noticed his reaction just now. "Gohan is in trouble." Piccolo was the first to notice Bardock.

"What?" Piccolo said to him, but remained watching the fight.

"Gohan and Cooler are both gone." This caught Piccolo's attention and he looked to where Gohan and Cooler had both been standing earlier. "He's right!" Piccolo yelled out. Piccolo's voice seemed to catch everyone's attention a lot better than Bardock's did.

"Who's right?" Krillin asked as he turned around to face Piccolo.

"Gohan and Cooler are missing."

"That can't be good."

"It's more than that." Bardock said. "I've been having some visions about Gohan that I really don't like. He's in trouble, we have to find him and get to him now! Raditz, find his energy signal."

"Right!" Raditz said with a nod and then closed his eyes. Raditz's eyes tightened and he started to scowl.

"What's taking so long?"

"I'm sensing lots of energy, all over the planet. This isn't right; I should be able to feel where he is!"

"Where's the highest concentration of energy?" Piccolo quickly asked him.

"I… can't tell!" Raditz said in frustration. "Hmm, North! Yes we should start by looking north!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but we'll still have to do some searching."

"Then let's get going." Future Trunks said determinedly.

"Krillin." Piccolo said to him. "Give me a Senzu Bean; you hang on to the rest of them."

"Okay." Krillin said as he handed one to Piccolo. "But why?"

"I need to stay here and make sure this job gets done. The rest of you will have to go on without me. Krillin, you're in charge. I'm counting on you to find Gohan."

"Right, I won't let you down." Krillin, 18, Raditz, Bardock, Future Trunks, Kid Trunks, and Goten all took off into the air and began to head north. Hercule noticed this and quickly ran over to him to ask him what was going on. Piccolo quickly filled him in and Hercule desperately tried to think of a way he could help. Sadly though, he could not and in the end just continued to watch the fight.

Somewhere in the artic, Cooler appeared in midair with Gohan. Gohan quickly knocked Cooler's hand off of his shoulder and then hopped back from him. He got into a fighting stance and carefully eyed Cooler.

"Gohan." Cooler said rather smoothly. "Everything we've done so far has been for you."

"That's right." Gohan quickly looked behind him and saw Turles floating behind him. "Everything up until now has been done with one purpose in mind. Killing you."

"What's wrong guys?" Gohan said with a smile. "Are you scared of me?"

"Yes." Cooler replied simply, catching Gohan by surprise. "There is no one on our side who can beat you. Not on their own anyway, but a good plan can still bring you down."

"What's this plan you're talking about?"

"It was a very complicated plan." Turles said to his nephew. "First, we had to get you alone, and make sure that none of your friends would be able to interfere. Thankfully, we had acquired the genius mind of Dr. Gero when we originally visited Hell."

"He looked at some machinery we had found on foreign planets and got it working." Cooler then said. "He even improved upon the things. First, he created the golden mind control rings. When we found out that Tien and Yamcha had gotten stronger, we knew that they would be our target. We really wanted Goku though, but he would be too tough to get if he was fresh. So I taught Tien and Yamcha the fusion dance. Tiencha was able to get the job done."

"After that, we got control of Kakarot. It was Bebidi that even suggested the idea of the Kakarot Games to him. We knew that would be our chance and now we have you. Our plan isn't perfect though. Kakarot had a pure heart, not even pure evil can corrupt that completely. It's only a matter of time until something brings him back to his senses and he breaks free of the Majinn seal."

"I'm flattered guys." Gohan said to them. "Really, but even with your plan, you're going to have a tough time dealing with me. On top of that, I'm in bad mood because of what you did to my dad. So I think I'll take it out on the two of you."


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47: Plans in Action**

Krillin's group sped through the air looking for Gohan, though not entirely sure where they would find him.

"Raditz!" Krillin yelled back to him. "Do you sense anything yet?"

"We should land just up ahead." Raditz replied back to him. They flew only a short distance more before he yelled "Here!" and stopped flying. They scanned the ground below them. It was a dense forest that made it tough to see the ground from above. "I'm sensing the source of a huge power down there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!"

"Alright. Everyone, we're going down, stay sharp and stick close to each other." The group flew down into the forest and landed. "Make sure you stay within sight of at least one other person." They all fanned out and began looking around it wasn't too long until Bardock gave a yell.

"Hey! I found something!" Everyone quickly rushed over to Bardock. In his hand he had a small metal disk with a blinking red light. It beeped in rhythm with the light. "What do you think it is?"

"This looks familiar." 18 said as she grabbed it and looked at it closer. "This looks like Dr. Gero's work."

"This thing…" Raditz said as he then grabbed it away from 18. "…it's sending out a large energy signal. It's making it so I can't pinpoint Gohan!" Raditz crushed it in his hand and there was no longer an energy signal coming from that area.

"This whole thing was set up." Future Trunks said.

"How's that?" Kid Trunks asked him.

"Gohan is taken somewhere and then all these devices activate to keep us from finding him. This was all set up to make us run around chasing after nothing!"

"So what do we do then?" Goten asked while looking around at everyone.

"Okay." Krillin said while think a little. "Here's what we'll do. We'll split up into groups. Goten and little Trunks will be one group, Bardock, Raditz, and big Trunks will be another group, while 18 and I will make up the last group. If you find one of the devices creating a false signal, destroy it. If you find Gohan then do whatever you can to help out. Let's go!" They all powered up and flew off in the directions of different signals.

Back in the artic, the air coldly bit across Gohan's face. They were floating above water, presumably extremely cold, which had some large chunks of ice floating on its surface. A little further off, there were several large mountain size glaciers slowly floating around. The wind was constantly blowing, and it frequently carried bits of snow and ice with it. Cooler got a grim look on his face.

"Turles!" Cooler yelled to him. "We've got a change of plans. You'll have to handle Gohan for now. I'll be back soon."

"What?" Turles said in disbelief. "Where are you…" Cooler had already vanished though. Gohan turned around to face Turles.

"Well now." Gohan said eagerly to him. "It looks like you're all alone now."

"Damn you Cooler!" Turles yelled as he shot an energy blast at Gohan. Gohan seemed to vanish and reappear in front of Turles. He punched Turles in the face and the two of them entered into a melee.

Elsewhere, Goten and Kid Trunks had quickly made their way to a swamp in which they were sensing an energy signal. Goten looked around some trees, when Trunks noticed a blinking red light underneath the dirty water. Trunks reached his hands into the dirty water and pulled out the device. He smashed it with his fists and turned around to yell to Goten.

"Goten! I found it, come on let's go check out the next signal!" Trunks floated around the swamp, but couldn't find Goten. "Goten! Where are you?"

"Where am I?" Goten said to himself. The scenery had changed from a damp musty swamp to a bright dry desert of sand. Goten felt some pressure on his shoulder and was lifted into the air. "Aah!" Goten yelled out as his shoulder filled with pain. Cooler was the one holding him in the air Goten went Super Saiyan and struggled even more. Cooler punched Goten hard in the back. Cooler flipped him around and then punched him just as hard again in the gut. With one more punch to his face, he let go of him and kicked him hard through the air. He then stuck his hand out and shot a large ki blast at him. The blast hit Goten and sent him careening into the side of a sand dune. Goten had already lost his Super Saiyan form. Blood was running down his chin and his back and gut were both sore now. Cooler stuck his hand out and began powering up a killing shot. Goten cringed in fear and closed his eyes. Nothing happened though. Goten slowly opened his eyes, but Cooler wasn't around. Goten cautiously stood up and looked all over, but didn't see Cooler anywhere. Not knowing what else to do, he started walking.

Back in the artic, Turles was trying everything he could think of to hold off Gohan. "Yah!" Turles yelled as he threw a punch at Gohan's face. It was quickly caught and Gohan sent his knee driving into his gut. Turles quickly threw a right hook at Gohan, but it was easily dodged as well and Turles got hit with another punch to the face. Turles started a rapid series of melee attacks against Gohan, only to have him effortlessly dodge all of them. Turles had a look of fear in his eyes with every punch he threw. He was losing this fight and he knew it, despite this, Gohan couldn't help but feel uneasy. Gohan dodged a punch and kicked Turles in the face. Turles went flying backwards and slammed into the side of a glacier. "Uhh." Turles had some blood running down his right arm and his forehead was now blood stained as well.

"That's enough Turles." Gohan said to him. "I'm sick of these games."

"Games?" Turles said confused as he slowly pulled himself away from the glacier. "Game he says to me." Turles coughed a little.

"That's right! Hurry up and go Super Saiyan already!"

"Super Saiyan?"

"Yeah, I'm sick of this stupid warm-up." Turles just stared at the pieces of ice floating atop the water below him.

"Super Saiyan, you say it like it's something that's easy to achieve." Gohan didn't say anything else and let Turles continue. "I can't go Super Saiyan!"

"You don't need to!" someone yelled from below. Turles and Gohan both looked down. It was Cooler and he was holding a piece of fruit from the Tree of Might in his hand.

"Where have you been!"

"I made sure that Gotenks won't be coming. Then I stopped at home to pick you up a snack. Catch!" Cooler threw the piece to Turles and he caught it in his hand. "You're already better than a Super Saiyan. Now show this arrogant punk what you can do!" Turles smiled to himself a little and took a bite from the fruit. His muscles bulged and an aura of energy flared up around him. His hair stood on end.

"Cooler, I will never let someone like you top me. I'll be the one to take down Gohan! His aura became even fiercer and his hair moved all about him. "Gohan! I'll kill you!"

"Come on then." Gohan said back to him.

"Kaio-Ken!" Turles's aura became red and his power level shot up dramatically.

"What?" Gohan briefly let his guard down and before he knew it Turles had punched him in the face. Turles hit Gohan several more times before he finally blocked an attacked an entered into a melee with him. "I'm surprised." Gohan said between punches. "How do you know Kaio-Ken?" Turles responded to him while continuing his fierce assault.

"What? You think your dad is the only one who can use it! I've known how to use Kaio-Ken long before he did!" Gohan blocked a kick aimed at his side and managed to land a kick of his own on Turles's side. "Gaah!" Turles winced in pain as his eyes closed shut. The aura of the Kaio-Ken faded and Gohan unleashed a flurry of punches to his midsection. Gohan then kicked him in the face and he was sent flying backwards through the air. Gohan flew after him and flew with his back to Turles's back.

"You won't get back up after this." Gohan began rolled in synch with Turles and kicked him in his back with the heel of his foot. Turles went spiraling through the air and crashed into the ground. He went skidding across his chest as shards of ice cut their way across his face. Turles finally stopped and struggled onto his hands and knees. Gohan landed a foot behind him. Turles was covered in sweat, aching all over, and panting desperately for air. Cooler lifted his feet off the ground and charged right at Gohan. A ball of energy formed in Turles's right hand. He tossed himself onto his back and threw it at Gohan's face. Gohan moved his head back and the blast went into the sky above him. As he dodged Turles's attack, he also fired a single ki blast at Cooler. The blast hit Cooler and pushed him back about half a mile and into the side of another glacier. Turles's arms were spread out to the side and he was on his back panting. "You can't beat me." Gohan said with a smile as he looked down at him. Turles forced a smile to his and opened his eyes.

"Well then Gohan." Turles said before he had to pause and cough. "You're in for a big surprise."


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48: Unexpected Help**

Gohan stared down at Turles as Turles stared up into the sky. His eyes became unfocused and his breathing became more rapid. Half a mile to Gohan's side, a glacier erupted in an explosion. Gohan looked over and saw Cooler charging at him. Gohan didn't move and waited for Cooler, but he stopped about halfway. He looked up into the sky and then took off in the opposite direction.

"What was that all about?" Gohan muttered to himself. Turles stood up, his arms hanging limply in front of himself, his head pointed down at the ground. "You want some more?" Turles's head shot up and he looked into the sky.

"Before I lose my mind…" Turles quickly said to him. "…I want to tell you something. That blast I threw at you before, it was artificial moonlight. I'm going to transform."

"What!" Gohan looked above him into the sky. There was a ball of energy hanging in the air, radiating light like a full moon. Gohan quickly snapped his attention back to Turles, but Turles had already begun to grow in size. Hair grew all over his body and his armor grew in size with him. It didn't take long before Turles had completely transformed. "This is not good."

In a mountainous region, Krillin and 18 continued their search. "You find anything yet Krillin?" 18 yelled to him.

"No, not yet." He responded back. Just then, a flash caught his eye from underneath a pile of rocks. "Hey! I think I found the device!" Krillin made his way over to it when a blast shot up from the ground in front of him. Krillin quickly reeled back and barely dodged it. "Woah! What was that!" A person floated up from the rocks, it was someone that Krillin immediately recognized. "Dr. Gero!" 18, having heard the blast quickly made her way over to Krillin.

"It's you!" 18 scowled at him.

"We better be careful 18, he's a Mejinn fighter now."

"Yeah, but he's still mainly machine. Just how much flesh does he have left to improve?"

"Quite an astute observation my dear." Dr. Gero said to her. "I have benefited least of all from this Mejinn power, but I still have my brilliant mind to make up for any shortcomings of strength I might have." As if on cue, Saibamen popped up out of the ground all around them. They were of various colors that included red, blue, yellow, purple, and of course, green. "Bebidi had picked up some Saibamen seeds on his travels and gave them to me. They were too weak as they were to be of any use, but I genetically enhanced them." 18 had a brief look of worry on her face before Krillin spoke up.

"Relax honey." Krillin said with a smile. "I can sense their energy at this close range, and it's still no match for the two of us.

"How true, but they are only meant to annoy you. Here are my real fighters." On cue again, 3 new fighters popped out of the ground. They had 18 and Krillin surrounded in a triangle and the Saibamen were littered all about the place as well. "18, you and your brother 17 were failures, even 16 was a failure. I thought you would be superior to my earlier designs, but I was wrong. Allow me to introduce you to androids 13, 14, and 15."

"Yo." The short android with sunglasses and the oversized hat said to them. "I'm 15."

"14." The tall muscular one with the long braid of hair and no shirt said to them.

"Howdy." The final one said. He wore a vest with a ball cap and for some reason had a southern accent to his voice. "I'm number 13."

"These 3 were initially inferior to you and 17, but with the help of some alien technology, I have been able to greatly improve upon them." Dr. Gero said. "They're at least on your level now. Number 13, I am now giving you command of this operation. Your orders are to eliminate them."

"Got it." 13 then focused his gaze on 18. "Sorry 'bout this ma'am. I don't really like the idea of having to hurt a lady, but when you don't have free will, well, there's not much you can do about it. Oh well, let's get this party started." All the fighters disappeared into the air while Dr. Gero and a few of the Saibamen near him stayed on the ground. 13 and a bunch of Saibamen floated in a circle around Krillin and 18. Krillin blocked a fierce attack from the short one and 18 did the same with the big one. The two of them were fighting back to back, slowly rotating in a circle. They were blocking all their attacks and occasionally attacking back, but none of their blows landed either. It wasn't long before some Saibamen charged in as well. 18 managed to block another one of 15's attack and then quickly swatted away a blue Saibaman that had charged her. Krillin did the same with a red Saibaman and they were finding themselves quickly overwhelmed.

"Krillin! I could use some help here!" 18 yelled at him.

"I'm trying!" Krillin yelled back in frustration.

"Aah!" He heard 18 yell as 14 finally landed a hit to her gut.

"18!" Krillin quickly spun around and kicked 14 in the face. He was knocked back, but 2 Saibamen quickly charged at Krillin in his place. They then stopped as they got within a foot of him and hopped back. Krillin got a confused look on his face, quickly followed by one of a revelation. He turned his head around and a Saibaman was leaping right at him. Its arms were stretched out widely. An image flashed in Krillin's mind. It was of how the Saibaman that self-destructed on Yamcha looked. Aside from being red instead of green, this Saibaman looked just like that one did back then. Krillin had a sudden realization as to just why Dr. Gero bothered with the Saibamen since they weren't strong enough to fight him and 18.

'Kamikaze.' The thought floated through Krillin's mind. It was too late though. There was no way that Krillin could dodge it at this range. Dr. Gero smiled from below and 13 smiled from the air. Someone else there began to smile as well, but for an entirely different reason. A purple blast of energy suddenly struck the Saibaman. The Saibaman screamed in pain and then fell lifelessly to the ground. Krillin looked at the person who fired the shot. "Of all the people it could have been…"

"Who is it Krillin?" 18 said as she glanced over her shoulder at their rescuer. A smile quickly sprung to 18's face. "17!"

"Hey sis." 17 said back to her. "How are you?"

"A bit better now that you're here. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Naturally, I heard the announcement about the Kakarot games. I didn't plan to fight him myself, but I thought I'd come and watch up close. I kept my distance from the rest of you though. When I saw you all take off, I figured something more interesting must be happening elsewhere. It looks like I was right too."

"You're the same as ever, all you care about is having fun."

"What's wrong with that?" Krillin, having noticed that all the Saibamen and androids were distracted by 17's arrival, quickly tossed an energy blast down at the ground near Gero. The blast hit the ground behind him and blew up the beacon that had been sending out the false energy signals.

"17." Krillin said to him "I'm actually glad you're here, but this is no joke, so be careful."

"Whatever."

"Hey!" Snapped android 13. "That's mighty cowardly of you, pulling a sneak attack on the poor little critter like that."

"And I suppose it's fair to outnumber your enemies? Well, then again, you are just worthless trash, so it would take more of you to stand up to someone like me."

"Boy! You just earned yourself an ass whooping!" 13 vanished and charged at 17. Everyone else continued to fight as well, though now the beacon had been destroyed.

Elsewhere, Raditz, Bardock, and Future Trunks were scouring tundra for one of the devices interfering with their search for Gohan. Bardock and Raditz's tails stood on end and they both immediately looked north. As if acting purely on instinct, they both took off in that direction. "I found it guys!" Trunks said as he crushed the device in his hand. He turned around and saw the two of them flying off into the distance. "Now where are they going in such a hurry?" Trunks prepared to take off after them when he felt a sudden surge of energy. "Wait, now what was that? It feels different from the energy of these devices. Maybe that's Gohan!" Future Trunks then powered up and took off in a different direction than Bardock and Raditz.

In a swamp, Kid Trunks felt the same kind of energy that Future Trunks had and took off in that direction as well. Back at the arena, Goku and Vegeta's fight raged on in a stalemate, while Piccolo and Hercule watched from the side. In a desert, a battered Goten slowly wandered in search of aid and in the fierce conditions of the artic, Gohan prepared to fight a monstrous Turles.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49: Tails**

Gohan took a large leap backwards as Turles now towered above him. Turles had finished growing and raised his arms above his head. With a tremendous yell he fired a blast from his mouth into the sky. The beast roared wildly and shook its head around violently until its eyes found their way to Gohan. His gaze was fixated on him and his nostrils snorted. He breathed heavily and his mouth hung open slightly. His warm breath created a brief fog in front of his face as it collided with the cold air.

"G, Go… han." The giant ape muttered out. "I, remember. I must, kill Gohan!" A safe distance away, Cooler smiled to himself.

"He's in control this time." Cooler said happily.

"So what?" a voice said from behind him. Frieza took a few steps forward and was now only a step behind Cooler.

"He's never been in control before."

"Do we join in yet?"

"No, Cell still needs some more time."

"I don't like waiting around like this."

"I don't care what you like." Turles threw his giant right fist down at Gohan. Gohan hopped above it, but a left hook was then heading for him. Gohan fired off an energy blast and pushed himself back out of range. The blast hit Turles, but didn't faze him at all. With his arms tangled up, Turles then twisted himself around and managed to hit Gohan with his foot. Gohan was quickly sent flying and Turles hopped back onto his feet. Gohan stopped himself and put his hands together and began to charge up a Kamehameha.

"Kaaaameeeehaaaameeee…" Gohan said as the blast swirled in between his hands. With a giant leap, Turles was directly in front of Gohan. Gohan couldn't help but gasp in surprise at how quickly the giant ape was able to move. "…haaaaaa!" Gohan quickly shot the blast at Turles. The blast hit his armor in the chest and shattered a hole in it. It pushed against the weight of the giant ape, but couldn't make any more progress. Turles's right arm quickly shot out and grabbed Gohan in his hand. The blast stopped and Gohan was caught. "Yaaahhhhhh!" Gohan struggled against his grip and the fingers were slowly forced away from him. As Gohan was about to get free, Turles put his left hand around him and began to crush him with both hands. Turles squeezed Gohan in his hands. "Aaaaaahhhh!" Gohan's yell echoed throughout the glaciers. It was a mixed yell, one of both pain and determination. Turles's fingers began to get pushed away again, but the grip retightened. Bardock and Raditz had made their way to the scene and both of them stared up at the orb glowing in the sky.

"Father." Raditz said as he continued to stare at it. "I can't control my ape form."

"That's okay." Bardock said back to him as he continued his gaze as well. "I can't either." Their heart rates picked up and the two of them both began to grow into their own great ape forms. It wasn't long until both of them had finished transforming. They both roared loudly into the air, announcing them to the world. This announcement did not go unheard by Turles, who turned around and growled at them. Bardock and Raditz growled back and both hopped over to Turles. Turles turned around and faced them, still clutching Gohan in between his hands. Bardock and Raditz's eyes both saw Gohan struggling in Turles's grip. They then both made eye contact with Turles and growled. Turles growled back. Raditz and Bardock yelled into the air while flexing their muscles and firing off mouth blasts. Turles flung Gohan into a glacier as if he were a rag doll and turned his attention back to Raditz and Bardock.

"This isn't good." Cooler said to Frieza. "I think Turles lost control. We might have to get involved early now."

"Against them?" Frieza asked as if he didn't know the answer. "You can deal with them on your own." Cooler turned his head back and glared at Frieza.

"Coward." Cooler hopped out of his hiding spot and began to make his way across the ground, being careful to remain out of sight. Bardock showed his teeth to Turles with a fierce growl. This time Turles responded with his fists. He nailed Bardock in the snout with his right fist. Raditz let out a loud yell and then hit Turles in his snout with his right fist. The apes quickly erupted into a giant brawl with fists and feet flying in every direction. Roars were frequent, and usually accompanied by a blast from the mouth. Though not completely in control of themselves, they still possessed some sense of self for Bardock and Raditz had not attacked each other. Bardock and Raditz briefly glanced at each other. They then each grabbed one of Turles's arms and using all their might flipped him onto his back. Despite the incredible thickness of the ice, it was not able to withstand this and it broke shortly after impact. The three giant apes fell into the freezing water and flailed their arms about. Despite their struggle to get back onto land, they continued to attack each other. Turles slugged Bardock in the face and Bardock fired a mouth blast back at Turles's face. Raditz bit into Turles's arm and he howled out in pain as blood began to run down his arm. Suddenly though, Bardock began to sink. His sank lower and lower until his only his head was above the water.

"Bardock!" Gohan yelled as he rushed over to his great ape grandfather. Bardock's head went under the water and his arm was left flailing above. Gohan grabbed one of his fingers and began pulling him up. "Yaaahhh!" Gohan yelled as he slowly pulled the great ape out of the water. Gohan kept on pulling until only his knees were still in the water.

"Perfect!" Cooler yelled to himself. He leapt high into the air behind Bardock. His eyes glowed and two beams shot out of them, severing Bardock's tail from his body. Bardock slowly began to shrink and Gohan had to quickly grab his wrist to keep him from falling.

"Wha…" Bardock mumbled as he came back to his senses completely.

"It's okay grandpa." Gohan said to him. "I've got you." Gohan slowly floated to the ground with Bardock as they watched Raditz and Turles continue their brawl. They watched as Raditz punched Turles in the face with first one hand, then the other, and the firing a mouth blast into Turles's chest.

"Raditz, he's doing great." Bardock said the pride evident in his voice.

"Yeah." Gohan noticed Cooler hopping across the ground again. "I've got to stop Cooler from cutting off Raditz's tail as well." Gohan flew off after Cooler.

"My, tail." Bardock said as he looked behind him where it once was. Bardock stared at it absent mindedly. "My tail." He muttered again, still in disbelief. "My tail; that was my saiyan pride." Bardock watched as Gohan caught up to Cooler and drop kicked into the ground, keeping him from reaching Raditz's tail. "My taaaaiiiiillllll!" Bardock's yell caught everyone's attention. Gohan looked over from the sky and Cooler turned his head as he got up from the ground. Even the apes of Raditz and Turles looked over, momentarily stopping their brawl. An aura flared around Bardock and his hair stood on end. "Tail!" His aura turned gold, his eyes went green, and his hair turned gold. Bardock had achieved the power of a Super Saiyan. "Cooler! I'll kill you for taking my tail from me!" Bardock charged forward towards Cooler with his full fury channeled into his fist.

"Heh." Cooler said to himself with a small smirk. Cooler sidestepped Bardock's charge and kneed him in the gut. With his knee still in place, he clenched his hands together and pounded them into Bardock's back and then immediately into the back of his head. Flowing right back from that attack, Cooler then brought his hands back and hit Bardock in the chin. He then spun around and whipped Bardock in the face with his tail. Bardock went flying. Cooler stuck out both his hands and fired a large blast at Bardock. The blast hit Bardock and sent him colliding into the side of another mountain of ice. Snow and ice fell on top of Bardock, completely covering him.

"Bardock!" Gohan yelled as he rushed over to him. Cooler smiled to himself, but it didn't last long. An angry ape Raditz quickly squashed Cooler into the ground with his massive hand. Turles punched Raditz in the face and he was already distracted again. "Bardock!" Gohan yelled again as he began digging through the snow. He quickly uncovered Bardock's face. His face was covered in blood and his eyes were closed. He was no longer a Super Saiyan, he wasn't even conscious. "Bardock!" Gohan yelled again as he grabbed his shoulders. "Grandpa." Gohan said quietly as he held his head against his shoulder. "Come on, don't die." Much to his relief, Bardock began to hack and cough. "Thank goodness you're alright." Gohan let go of him and laid him back down. "Don't worry; I'll take care of things now." Gohan turned around and flew back off to the battle.

"Gohan." Bardock muttered, his eyes still closed, but trying desperately to say a final message. "Don't fight. Run away." Bardock went silent again.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50: Exhaustion**

Piccolo and Hercule continued to watch Goku and Vegeta fight. The two warriors continued their lightning fast battle, with neither side landing any blows. From the sides, Piccolo smiled.

"Good." He said. Hercule looked over at Piccolo.

"What's good?" he asked him.

"Vegeta is holding this match to a draw. He might be able to win if this keeps up."

"You just confused the heck out of me. How can he win if he's fighting to a draw?"

"It's their energy consumption. Goku's Super Saiyan 3 form is draining massive amounts of energy. Vegeta's Full Power Mega Super Saiyan 2 form though is draining a lot less. Goku will wear himself out and then Vegeta can make his move to beat Goku."

"Wow, nice plan. I never thought of Vegeta as a defensive fighter."

"He's not really. With just one arm, he had to learn a whole new way of fighting. He had a tough time learning not to attack unless he was completely sure he could avoid getting hit. He really stuck to his training though and I can definitely see the results." Hercule began to feel a little dazed and put his hands across his stomach.

"Oh, I don't feel so good. My stomach." Piccolo sighed.

"Mr. Satan, the cameras are all far away, you don't need to put on an act this time."

"I'm not. I just feel, really, really tired all of a sudden." Hercule fell onto his butt and rested his arms on his knees. "Whew, I feel worn out for some strange reason."

"Actually, now that you mention it…" Piccolo rubbed one of his eyes. "…I feel like I just finished working out a bit." Goku and Vegeta both stopped their fight and hopped back from each other. Both were panting and sweating heavily.

"Vegeta." Goku said while still panting. "I'm… disappointed… you haven't… hit me… once… yet." Vegeta cracked a smile in return and responded between pants of his own.

"You… haven't… done… much… better… Kakarot." 'My energy is draining faster than it was just a moment ago. Is my form losing its effect?'

'Crap, I'm losing energy fast. My Super Saiyan 3 form must finally be taking its toll on me.' Goku eyes widened as he suddenly realized what was going on. 'I'm on to you Vegeta.' "Vegeta, this has been fun, but it's time to up the stakes. Remember how you told me to invent my own move; well I did with my Kamehameha x10!"

"No you didn't. You just combined two of your moves again. It still isn't completely your own." Goku gritted his teeth.

"Let's see you talk trash after you've been hit by it." Goku put his hands behind him and started to charge a blue ball of energy. "Kaaaaaammmeeeeeee…" Vegeta got worried.

'No! How can I counter it?'

"…hhhhhaaaaaaaaa…"

'I need both of my hands for Galick Gun or Final Flash. That leaves me with just Big Bang Attack.'

"…mmmmeeeeeee…"

'But there's no way it'll be strong enough for that!'

"…hhhhhhaaaaaaaa…"

'I've got no choice! I'll have to try my new move now.' Vegeta's hand began to glow green and even green lightning flashed around it.

'So, he's got a new move too. Let's see whose is better.' Goku's energy changed from blue to red. "…Times 10!" Goku fired off his blast at Vegeta.

"Final Shine!" Vegeta stuck out his right hand as if it were a claw and fired the blast at Goku. The two attacks quickly made their way towards each other.

'Final Shine!' Piccolo thought to himself when he heard Vegeta. 'During training he said he hadn't mastered it!' The two blasts hit, but didn't push against each other. Instead, Vegeta's Final Shine cut right through Goku's Kamehameha x10. Goku's eyes widened in shock as his Kamehameha x10 didn't even slow down the Final Shine. Vegeta smiled as his blast cut quickly cut through Goku's and made its way closer to him. With less than a foot to go before it hit Goku, the Final Shine vanished. Goku quickly smiled and put more energy into his Kamehameha x10.

"Ah!" Vegeta quickly dove out of the way and the Kamehameha x10 went past him and slammed into a mountain in the distance. Vegeta turned around and watched as the mountain was instantly destroyed, though none of them heard any noise until several seconds later in which a shockwave came carrying rocks, dust, and whatever other debris there might have been from the mountain. "Damn it! I should have practiced more." Vegeta cursed to himself as he got back onto his feet.

"Not bad Vegeta." Goku said to him. "But it looks like your new move still has some flaws."

"My move is flawless!"

"Sure it is." The two of them then flew into the air and continued with another stalemate melee.

Meanwhile, Krillin's group of himself, 17, and 18 were still fighting the enhanced Saibamen army, and Gero's three new androids.

17 flew low to the ground through the forest. Flying only a few feet off to his side was android 13.

"Eat this you little punk!" 13 yelled as he rapidly fired off blasts through the trees at 17.

"At least I don't screw my sister you hillbilly piece of trash!" 17 yelled back as he weaved in and out of the blasts and trees.

"As if an insult comin' from a wannabe ghetto gangster is gonna get to me!" Whether the two of them were more concerned with fighting or insulting each other is something that no one was able to tell. 18 and Krillin were fighting androids 14 and 15 respectively. They were both making sure to keep constantly on the move, lest a Saibaman get close enough to self-destruct on them.

"Yaah!" Krillin yelled as he landed a right hook on the short android 15's jaw. A Saibaman was quickly approaching him from his right. Krillin spun with the momentum of his punch and formed a Destructo Disk in his right hand. Krillin tossed the attack and severed the Saibaman's head horizontally in half. This left Krillin open though and 15 quickly kicked Krillin in the gut.

'This sucks!' 18 thought to herself. 'This guy is at least an even match for me.' 18 saw a Saibaman coming at her from the corner of her eye. She quickly turned and fired a blast at it large enough to vaporize it, which it then did. 14 took advantage of this though and kicked 18 in the back of her head and sent her towards the ground. She hit the ground and quickly got to her feet. "Damn." Unfortunately for her, she landed near a Saibaman who was quickly charging her. The Saibaman leapt into the air.

"Spirit Ball!" A voice yelled and shortly after a ball of energy hit the Saibaman's chin and knocked it high into the air.

"Tri-Beam!" A different voice yelled as a blast the engulfed and vaporized the Saibaman. 18 quickly looked over in the direction of the voices and, as she expected, saw Tien and Yamcha there. "Sorry we're late." 17 and 13 came barreling out the woods into the sky and then backed off from each other when they noticed Tien and Yamcha. Krillin and 15 stopped fighting as well. Tien and Yamcha both floated into the air.

"Where have you guys been!" Krillin yelled angrily at them.

"Sorry we didn't jump in sooner Krillin. It's just; we were too ashamed to show our faces to you guys after what we did to Goku. "

"Yeah." Yamcha simply added.

"None of us ever blamed you guys!" Krillin yelled, still annoyed that they had only just now arrived. His expression began to calm though.

"We watched the fight from afar, just like 17 did. We were going to stay at the arena, but then when we saw 17 leave, we decided to follow him. At the time, we didn't know whose side he was on." Tien explained to them.

"Well, I'm just glad you're both here now."

"Don't worry Krillin; we'll handle the rest of these guys on our own now." Yamcha said in his arrogant voice.

"Yeah." Tien said with a head nod as he hopped a short distance away from Yamcha. They both put their arms out to the side and began to speak in unison as they started the fusion dance.

"Fuuuuuuu-sion!" Before they could completely finish it though, 13 fired off a blast. "Ha!" The blast hit Yamcha's knee and caused his leg to flinch right as their fingers connected with each other. There was a bright white light and when it vanished, only Tiencha remained, though he was now incredibly skinny and looked like he could barely stand, let alone fight. This was made even more obvious when he began to immediately fall to the ground.

"Oh great." Krillin said in frustration.

"This…" 17 began. "…is supposed to be fusion? What a joke!"

"It got messed up!" 18 yelled at her brother. The androids all floated in the air, smiling with their arms crossed.

'Great.' Krillin thought to himself. 'Now we're worse off than we were before since we'll have to protect him too! And why am I suddenly feeling so tired!'


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51: Heart of Ice**

Gohan quickly shook his head as he made his way after Cooler

"Frieza! Help Turles now!" Cooler yelled as he blocked one of Gohan's punches only to then get hit by another one.

"Help a saiyan, I don't think so." Frieza said to himself while remaining hidden. "Then again, I suppose I can look at it as hurting a different saiyan instead of helping one." Frieza vanished from his hiding spot. Gohan glanced around quickly between his attacks on Cooler.

"Where's Frieza?" Gohan said as he turned his full attention back to Cooler. A punch landed on Cooler's check and sent him to his knees.

"How should I know?" Cooler spat back at him. "If he keeps this up though, then I'll kill him myself."

"Wouldn't you have to be alive to do that?" Just then two purple disks of energy went flying out of the water and lopped off Raditz's tail. Raditz yelled as he quickly began to lose his form. Raditz looked around himself, a little confused by what was going on. He then noticed the great ape Turles right in front of him.

"Aw crap." Raditz muttered right before Turles's fist pounded him into the ground.

"Darn it." Gohan said to himself as he quickly hopped along the ice and made his way behind Turles. "Masenko-ha!" Gohan fired off a Masenko and managed to hit the base of Turles's tail, causing a great gash in it. The rest of the tail then snapped off and fell to the ground while Turles also reverted back to his regular form. Gohan floated in the air, watching Turles change back when Cooler came rushing up from behind him and threw a kick at the back of his head. Gohan sensed the attack coming though and quickly dodged it and counterattacked with a kick to Cooler's gut. Back on the ground, Raditz slowly got up to his feet Turles landed in front of him.

"How does if feel to be weak?" Turles said to him right before he shot a blast at Raditz. The blast hit him and Raditz was sent skidding backwards across the ground. Turles leapt over to him and as he landed he punched Raditz in the gut. Turles was panting, exhausted from fighting with Raditz, Bardock, and Gohan. "It annoys me when someone doesn't know where their place is. Yours is at the bottom." Turles began to walk away, but stopped about ten feet away. His back was still turned to Raditz. "Haven't you had enough yet weakling?" Turles turned around to face Raditz, but was in no way prepared for what he saw. Raditz was on his feet, his breathing had become extremely heavy and the look in his eyes could only be seen as demonic.

"My name…" Raditz began to say to him as energy crackled all around him. "…is Raditz." Turles tilted his head as he watched Raditz, as if maybe that would let him better see what was happening to Raditz. "And I'm no weakling!" A golden aura flared around Raditz and his eyes went green. His hair seemed to float about through the air instead of standing on end like it did with other Super Saiyans.

"He's a Super Saiyan!" Turles shouted out as Raditz transformed. Raditz rushed towards Turles. "Kaio-Ken!" A red aura flared up around Turles as he barely managed to lock grips with Raditz. The two of them were in a power struggle with each other. Turles began to sweat and was being forced to his knees.

"I'm not weak!" Turles struggled against Raditz, but when he lost control of his Kaio-Ken, he fell to his knees completely. "I, am a Super Saiyan! You will never defeat me." Raditz smashed his head into Turles's. Raditz's eyes remained focused as blood began to run down Turles's forehead. Raditz then grabbed Turles's arm and tossed him into the air. Purple clouds of energy began forming around his hands. "Double Sunday!" Raditz put his hands together and shot the blast at Turles. The blast hit Turles on the right side of his chest and after a brief second or two of resistance, punched right though. The blast faded and Turles's body began to fall to the ground.

"Turles! No!" Cooler yelled as he quickly punched Gohan in the face and then flew off towards him. Raditz turned around to face Cooler.

"Come on then." Raditz growled as Cooler came closer. Cooler's fist glowed with energy. Raditz threw a punch at Cooler, but Cooler spun and dodged it. He then sent his fist with the energy right into Raditz's gut. Raditz stood frozen on his feet. "Ah."

"You…" Raditz coughed up some blood and his Super Saiyan form faded. Raditz fell limply onto Cooler's arm. "…are not worth my time." Cooler shoved Raditz to the ground and raced over to Turles. "Turles."

"Cooler." Turles said as he lay on his back, trying to act as if the hole in his chest wasn't even there. He coughed up some blood. "Fruit; There's a small piece in my left boot." Cooler reached into his boot and there was indeed a small piece of fruit from the Tree of Might.

"It's too small a piece to give you energy." Cooler watched as Turles's chest slowly moved up and down.

"I don't care." Turles coughed again. "Put it in my mouth." Cooler did. Turles chewed the piece of fruit slowly with his eyes closed. He then swallowed it. "Even covered in blood, it still tastes good." Turles tried to breathe in deep, but ended up inhaling his own blood. He instinctively coughed and more blood came out of his mouth. "Win."

"Right." Turles inhaled and his chest fell back down. It didn't rise back up though. Cooler stood up and saw Gohan standing about ten feet behind him.

"Is this what you want?" Gohan said to him. "Death! That's all that comes from fighting like this! We fight, some of us live, some of us die, in the end, both sides are hurt."

"I don't care if I die."

"But you care if your friends die. You care that Turles is dead."

"I don't have friends and I don't want friends. All I want is for you to die by my hand!"

"Fine, I gave you a chance to change, you threw it away. Either way though, you still aren't strong enough to beat me."

"I'm not even at my max yet!"

"Then power up already." Cooler didn't say anything else, instead he began yelling as power flowed all around him.

"Yaaaaahhhhh!" Lightning flashed around him and gusts of wind were sent off in every direction from him. "Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Gohan watched as Cooler slowly transformed into his 5th form. The transformation finished and a grate slid across Cooler's mouth.

"Woah." Frieza said to himself in shock from up in the air. He seemed content on just watching things unfold. Then he got angry. "Why does Cooler have a form with so much more power than me! It's not fair!"

"Frieza! We need to attack him together!" Frieza got a scowl on his face but powered up to his max anyway. His muscles bulged and he flew down and landed about ten feet behind Gohan. Cooler briefly locked eyes with Gohan and all three fighters vanished into the air.


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52: Bombs Away**

Cooler and Frieza attacked Gohan rapidly. They were both frantically trying to hit him, but neither could seem to land a blow. Gohan carefully and quickly dodged all their punches and threw his own punches back at Frieza whenever he could. Frieza threw a punch at the back of Gohan's head. Gohan dodged to his right and delivered a left backhand to Frieza's face. Cooler went to kick Gohan from the front, but Gohan raised his left knee and blocked the attack. He then quickly spun around and hit Frieza in the back of his head with his right fist. Frieza went slamming into Cooler.

"Damn it!" Frieza yelled angrily. "Why is he only attacking me? I'll kill him!" Frieza went to leap towards Gohan, but Cooler grabbed his tail and pulled him back.

"Wait!" Cooler loudly said to him. "If you lose your cool, then you'll lose the fight!"

"Shut up!" Frieza smashed Cooler in the face with his left elbow, causing him to lose his grip on his tail. Frieza quickly charged at Gohan.

"You idiot!" Frieza threw a punch at Gohan, but Gohan effortlessly dodged to the side and countered with a punch to his gut. Gohan then grabbed Frieza's tail and began to quickly spin around in a circle. Cooler, not sure how he could get close to Gohan without getting hit by Frieza, opted to stay back a little. Gohan picked up incredible speed and then let go of him. Frieza went spiraling out of control towards the top of a glacier, yelling frantically at the top of his lungs. Gohan quickly put his hands above his head and they began to glow yellow.

"Masenko…" Gohan began. His eyes quickly shifted over to Cooler, making sure that he wouldn't be able to catch him off guard. "…Ha!" Gohan fired the blast at Frieza. It made its way directly for Frieza and then slammed into the back of him. The blast shoved him into the side of a glacier, making a cave about 20 feet deep in it. Frieza, his face now covered in blood and his body scratched all over, slowly climbed out of the new cave. As he put his hand on the side of it, he noticed a shadow above him growing larger. He looked up and saw Gohan heading directly towards him. Frieza was barely able to open his mouth.

"H…" was all Frieza was able to get out before Gohan's foot collided with Frieza's face. Frieza was sent slamming down into the ice, breaking through well over a hundred feet of it. Gohan looked at Frieza at the bottom. He couldn't tell if he was dead or not, but either way, he was definitely out of the fight.

"That takes care of him." Gohan stated to himself. He turned his attention back to Cooler who hadn't even tried to stop Gohan from attacking Frieza. Gohan flew back over to him. "You didn't even try to stop me."

"I was just teaching my little brother a lesson." Cooler said to him.

"Oh yeah, what lesson was that?"

"If your big brother tells you to do something for you own good, then you better do it. Otherwise, you'll get hurt."

"Good advice, but I don't think he'll get to make use of it. After I deal with you, I'll finish Frieza off for good. I know Frieza is rotten to the core. Any second chances he gets would just be used for evil."

"True enough."

"So, you think you can beat me?"

"No, not right now anyway."

"Well we're going to finish this right now. I won't let you get away."

"I agree this will be finished now." 'Master Bebidi, are you there? Give the signal to Cell! We can't wait any longer!'

From his spaceship hidden somewhere on the planet Earth, Bebidi had been watching the various fights with great interest on a crystal ball of his own. He had checked in on the giant battle with the androids, and even the fight between Goku and Vegeta, but it was the fight with Gohan that he was most concerned about and was currently watching. Bebidi had set up a psychic link with Cooler earlier that day, so he was well prepared for this.

"Cooler." Bebidi said aloud, as if he were just talking to the walls or the ceiling. "I understand. Cell! Do it now!" Bebidi relayed the message to Cell who was much closer to Cooler than Gohan ever realized. Cell was also in the artic, but he was underneath the frozen surface of ice. He was in the freezing cold water. He was very far beneath the surface; hardly any light could reach the depth he was at.

'Right!' Cell responded back to Bebidi. 'I've been waiting for this.' His hands were above his head and floating above his hands was a massive ball of energy. Cell smiled, though no living creature would have been able to tell in such a thick darkness. "Here Gohan! This is for you, all the hatred of the world! Spirit Bomb!" The massive ball of energy above Cell was indeed a Spirit Bomb and it had just been launched up towards the surface. Cooler was floating nervously in the air as he stared down at Gohan. It was as if Cooler thought that so long as he stared at Gohan, he wouldn't get attacked by him. Strangely enough, he seemed to be right.

"Well…" Gohan began impatiently. "…are you going to do something or do I have to get things started?"

"I'm just trying to focus myself." Cooler said to him, trying to buy as much time as he could. He didn't have to stall any longer though. The ground all around them began to shake violently. Huge chunks of ice cracked and the glaciers themselves collapsed in on top of themselves. The water swayed about violently, the waves crashing into the ice and other waves. The water was forming into huge tidal waves as the winds all around them became even fiercer than they already were. Gohan seemed to realize that this wasn't entirely natural and his eyes quickly darted around. Cooler seemed to be shaking nervously. A bright light suddenly lit up the area from below. "It's too late for you now Gohan!" The Spirit Bomb broke through the surface of the ice and made its way up towards Gohan and Cooler. It was massive, far too large for either of them to fly out of the way of.

"What is this?" Gohan yelled frantically.

"It is your end!" Cooler put his fingers to his forehead and vanished, leaving Gohan alone to contend with the blast. Gohan looked back down at the blast; panic was all over his face. Not knowing what else to do, he quickly stuck his hands out in front of him.

"Kamehameha!" Gohan let out a large stream of blue energy. It collided with the Spirit Bomb, but against such a large force, it couldn't even slow it down. Gohan poured more of his energy into the Kamehameha, but the Spirit Bomb moved even closer. With the Spirit Bomb only feet away, Gohan stopped the Kamehameha and stuck his hands out in front of him. The bomb collided with his hands, but didn't stall for more than a second. Gohan was quickly engulfed by the Spirit Bomb. Cooler watched from far away in awe as the Spirit Bomb slowly made its way into outer space. Cell flew over beside him.

"Did it work? Did we do it?" Cell quickly asked Cooler. Cooler gave a nod.

"Nobody could have survived that." Cooler responded back to him.

"Good thing too, I put my own energy into that too, I've got practically none left."

"How did you even get the energy?"

"It was easy. I was just like, okay planet, give me that stupid energy! And then I took it; from the wildlife, the plants, and even the people of the planet. I didn't even leave out single celled organisms."

"I thought I felt something weird, you took some of my energy too, didn't you?"

"Well, I wanted to make sure that it would be enough." The two of them watched as the end of the Spirit Bomb passed by where Gohan had been. "And there goes the last of it." Cell watched the Spirit Bomb drift into outer space. He thought about how maybe it would crash into another planet full of innocent life and completely destroy it or better yet, a star and cause it to supernova, taking out a whole solar system of life. Cell smiled as he pictured this. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Unbelievable."

"Yes." Cell said back, not realizing that Cooler wasn't watching the Spirit Bomb.

"Look." Cooler said as he pointed off into the distance. Cell squinted his eyes as he watched.

"No, it can't be." They watched as they saw something fall from the sky and land on a chunk of ice.

"We have to check it out." Cooler and Cell both flew over to where they saw the object fall. The floated lowly above the water and both could only stare in complete shock at what they saw. Gohan was clinging to a piece of ice. He wasn't even unconscious. He was breathing heavily, his shirt was completely gone, and he looked absolutely terrible, but he was still pulling himself up onto the ice.

"Just, how strong is he now?" Cell said, making no effort to hide the fear in his voice. Gohan's head quickly turned to face Cell and Cooler. The look in Gohan's eyes was on of pure fury and determination. He grinded his teeth together as he let out a tremendous yell.

"You will not beat me!" Gohan got to his feet and continued his death gaze towards Cell and Cooler.

"Just how strong is he?" Cell repeated as if he actually needed an answer. Cooler, his own eyes still fixed on Gohan, gave it to him.

"He's unbelievably strong."


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53: Vegeta vs. Kakarot, Fight's End**

Vegeta and Goku's elbows slammed into each other, followed immediately by their foreheads. Vegeta gritted his teeth as he was reminded of just how hard Goku's head was. They both hopped backwards and then immediately into the air. Goku charged forward, his fist ready to strike. Vegeta readied himself.

"Yaaaahhhh!" Goku yelled as charged. Something happened in mid-charge though; Goku's lost his Super Saiyan 3 form. Goku immediately stopped his charge and flew a safe distance backwards. Vegeta smiled triumphantly.

"Yes!" Piccolo yelled from the sidelines as he clenched his fists. "He did it!"

"Did what?" Hercule asked still feeling a bit dazed.

"He outlasted Goku's Super Saiyan 3 form and now he's drained of energy. Vegeta can't possibly lose now."

"Kakarot." Vegeta said happily to him. "You should have realized what I was doing. I had a plan and it worked. Now you're out of energy and I've got enough left to finish you off. I am now the best!"

"Urgh, Vegeta!" Goku scowled back at him. A small smile then came to Goku's face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a clenched fist. "Well then, I guess it's a good thing I've got a Senzu Bean." Goku put his fist in front of his mouth, opened his mouth, and tossed it in. He slowly chewed and then swallowed.

"Darn it!" Vegeta cursed. "Piccolo, I need a Senzu Bean!"

"Right!" Piccolo yelled back as he pulled out the Senzu Bean Krillin had left him earlier. "Vegeta! Catch!" Piccolo threw the Senzu Bean to Vegeta. Vegeta had his hand out ready to catch it, but suddenly Goku appeared in his way. Goku quickly caught the bean and then vanished to a short distance away again. "What the!"

"Kakarot!" Vegeta turned his gaze back to Goku. He was chuckling to himself and then burst out in a full out fit of laughter.

"Heh heh heh, he he, ha ha haha!" Goku laughed as if he had never laughed before. "I never had a Senzu Bean! But now I have yours and this time I'll eat one for real." Goku put the bean in his mouth and quickly ate it. Vegeta scowled but then flew down to Piccolo and landed beside him.

"Piccolo, I need another Senzu Bean." Vegeta held his hand out, waiting for one to be put in it. "Well come on! I won't be able to hold Kakarot off this time without one!" Piccolo stared blankly into the air.

"That…" Piccolo began. "…was the only one I had."

"What!" Vegeta quickly turned around and looked at Goku. Piccolo and Hercule couldn't see the look of panic that had just gone across his face. Goku quickly went through the Super Saiyan stages until he was back to a Super Saiyan 3 again. "What do I do now?" Vegeta mumbled to himself as he flew into the air towards Goku.

"Vegeta." Goku said happily to him. "You will never be the best!" Goku charged at Vegeta.

'It's all or nothing now.' Vegeta stuck his hand out and a blue ball of energy shot out of it. "Big Bang Attack!" The blast was heading right for Goku and Goku right for it. Goku swatted away the attack like it was nothing and continued his charge. "No. I'm finished now." Goku stopped a foot in front of Vegeta and savored the look of terror on his face.

"You lose." Goku said nonchalantly before he began pummeling Vegeta. Goku threw punch after punch at Vegeta and all Vegeta could do was take them.

"This isn't good." Piccolo said from the ground. "Vegeta can't possibly win now. It's going to be up to me." Piccolo quickly took off his turban and cape before he put two of his fingers to his forehead and began to charge a Special Beam Cannon. 'This is our only chance now.'

"Yah!" Goku yelled as he punched Vegeta in the chest. Vegeta's muscles retracted and he lost his Mega Super Saiyan 2 form. "It won't be long now Vegeta!" Goku said as he continued pummeling him. With a fierce roundhouse to his face, Vegeta was knocked backwards.

'It's ready!' Piccolo thought to himself. He quickly took off into the air and stopped behind Goku.

"Hmm?" Goku turned around

"Eat this Goku! Special Beam Cannon!" Piccolo fired the blast at Goku. From such a close range, Goku wouldn't be able to completely dodge it. Instead, he stuck out his right hand and the blast hit his palm. The blast ended and Goku remained relatively unharmed. The palm of his hand was now completely black and smoking, but he was otherwise fine.

"Ouch, you singed my fingernails."

"No." Was all Piccolo managed to say.

"Kamehameha x10!" Goku quickly blasted Piccolo with a Kamehameha x10. Piccolo was completely engulfed by the blast. When it faded, Piccolo was smoking all over. His body fell to the ground and impacted the center of the ring with a great thud.

"Piccolo!" Hercule yelled as he climbed onto the stage and ran over to him. Hercule grabbed him, but immediately let go when he felt how hot he was. "Eee-yowch! That's hot!" Hercule said as he held his hand and blew on it. Hercule looked back at Piccolo and was relieved to see the faintest signs of breathing coming from him. "Thank goodness he's still alive." Hercule looked up into the air and watched Goku continue to pummel Vegeta. 'He's not gonna win.' As if responding to his thoughts, Goku kicked Vegeta into the arena. He landed near the edge and Hercule went running over to him. Vegeta's hair was black now; he had lost his full power form. Hercule looked at Vegeta; he was still breathing, but seemed to be unconscious. "Vegeta too." Goku landed in the ring. Hercule turned around to face him and got in a fighting stance. His knees were trembling.

"What do you think you're doing Mr. Satan?"

"I'm going to fight you!" Hercule choked out through a cracked voice. "I-I'm the only one left! It's up to me now!"

"You?"

"Th-that's right. I am the Martial Arts Champion of the World, and more important than that, I am the Champion of the People of Earth!"

"You're a fraud."

"So what? I may be a fraud, but I still love this planet and everyone on it. I don't care what my odds are, I'll still fight you!" Hercule's words, though brave, did not mix well with the trembling of his knees. Just then, a hand grabbed Hercule's ankle. It was Vegeta.

"Vegeta, you can still move?"

"Your heart is in the right place." Vegeta said to him. "But you just don't have the power to deal with Kakarot." Vegeta stumbled to his feet using Hercule to help himself up. "Take Piccolo and leave. I'll finish up here."

"Vegeta." Hercule said to him in surprise. "Okay." His voice was now filled with determination. "I'll get him out of here, but then I'm coming back for you."

"Fine, just get going." Hercule ran over to Piccolo and put his arm over his shoulder. He was relieved to find that Piccolo was now just warm instead of searing hot. Hercule gave one last look at Vegeta before running out of the arena and heading in the direction of the reporters, who unfortunately were still the closest group of people.

"Vegeta." Goku said to him "What are you planning to do now?" Vegeta looked pitiful compared to Goku. His sling was gone so his bad arm hung limply at his side now. His clothes were torn all over and he was covered in cuts, bruises, and blood. He didn't even have enough energy left to transform into a regular Super Saiyan, yet Goku stood before him as a Super Saiyan 3.

"Kakarot."

"So, ready to die?" Goku casually walked over to Vegeta and grabbed the back of his head. He tossed him face down into the floor of the ring. He powered down to his base form, put his hands behind him and began to charge up a Kamehameha.

"No!" Vegeta got to his hand and knees. "If you're going to kill me, then don't hold back. Use your Kamehameha x10."

"I can't. I've found that I can only really do it 3 times in a single day. After that, I'm just back to regular Kamehamehas." Goku stopped charging and grabbed Vegeta's hair. He tossed Vegeta face down into the ground again. "Stay down!" Goku took a few steps back and then began to charge up a new Kamehameha.

"No." Vegeta struggled back to his hand and knees, panting desperately the entire time. "If you're going to kill me, then so be it." Vegeta pushed himself up and was now resting on just his knees. "But at least have the guts to look me in the eye as you do it." Goku stayed where he was and the energy between his hands continued to swirl around, though it didn't seem to be growing any larger. Goku stared directly into Vegeta's eyes and Vegeta back into his.

"Do you think this will stop me from killing you?" There was more silence between the two of them.

"I never thought that anyone could ever control you…" Vegeta paused for a moment. "…Goku."

"Goku?" Goku whispered to himself. "You've, never called me Goku before." Vegeta didn't say anything else to him. "Why would you start now?" Vegeta had finally stopped his heavy panting and was now just breathing slowly. He got to his feet and slowly started to stumble towards Goku.

"Goku, he annoyed me, didn't take me seriously, he could even infuriate me to no end. But he was still the closest thing I've ever had to a friend. He would have hated what you are." Vegeta reached Goku and fell on to him, his head on Goku's shoulder. "So, to show my respect to him…" Vegeta put his right arm around Goku; tears were now forming in his eyes. "…I'll stop you, because that's what he would want."

"Vegeta, are you planning to blow yourself up?"

"Yes." Was all Vegeta muttered out.

"You know it won't work, you don't have enough strength left."

"It's the only chance left." Energy slowly began to crackle around Vegeta.

"Why are you crying Vegeta? Are you scared of dying?"

"Idiot, these tears aren't for me. They're for you. Now, I'll never get to have that match with you."

"What match?"

"It would have been just me and you. The only thing at stake would be our pride." There was another pause. "We've never had a match like that; something else was always on the line. Now we'll never have it. That's what these tears are for!" Goku looked up into the sky. He then glanced back down at Vegeta.

"I'd…" Goku paused for a moment. "…like to have that match too." Goku gently grabbed Vegeta's arms and held him away from him. "But we can't have it if you blow yourself up." Vegeta lifted his head and looked at Goku.

"Kakarot, you're back." Vegeta smiled and passed out. The M on Goku's forehead had vanished.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54: Rush to Gohan!**

Back at Goku's house, Chi-Chi, Bulma, and the others had just finished watching the Goku and Vegeta fight. They all stared intently at the crystal ball. Vegeta was slumped over on Goku and Goku was looking at the sky. Goku grabbed Vegeta's arms and held him away. The image zoomed in on Goku's face and they all noticed the M for Majinn was gone. Tears began to well up in Chi-Chi's eyes.

"My Goku!" Chi-Chi yelled out as she threw her arms into the air. "He's back to normal! My husband is back!"

"Vegeta." Bulma said aloud. "I don't know what you said to him, but it worked." Bulma smiled to herself. Oolong looked over at her.

"You look pretty happy." Oolong said to her.

"Well yeah, Goku is back. On top of that, Vegeta will have to take me out to a fancy restaurant." Bulma began to imitate Vegeta's voice. "Tonight we'll go out to celebrate. I'll even wear one of those tuxedo things you keep insisting that I'd look good in." She stopped imitating Vegeta. "He promised."

"Oh boy, that's going to be pure torture for Vegeta. He really must like pain."

"Oh, I better go get ready!" Bulma said excitedly as she ran off.

While celebrations were being had at Goku's house, the situation was still not fully under control. Back at the arena, Goku had just finished setting Vegeta down.

"Vegeta." Goku said to him, though Vegeta was unconscious at this point. "Someday, we will have that match, but there are still some things left to do today."

"Goku!" King Kai's voice boomed in happily in his head. "You've overcome the power of Majinn, that's fantastic!"

"Thanks King Kai, but I need to going. I have to get to Gohan."

"That's right." Goku closed his eyes.

"I can't sense his energy. King Kai, do you know where he is?"

"No, but you should start by heading north. That's the direction the others went."

"Right, I'm on my way." Goku prepared to take off when his stomach suddenly cramped up. He fell to his knees and then was quickly on his hands and knees. Goku began to throw up a foul black liquid. After a few seconds of this, he stopped and wearily got back up on his feet. "King Kai, I don't feel so good. And I've never thrown up like that before."

"Relax Goku. That was a good thing. That was the last of the evil energy in your body. Now you are completely back to your old self."

"Yeah, but now I can barely move."

"You aren't injured, your body is just getting used to being normal again. Still though, you have to get moving. If you can't fly, then call your flying nimbus."

"Sure. Nimbus!" Within seconds a small yellow cloud flew down in front of Goku. He fell down on top of it and it supported him. "Guess I really am back." Goku said to himself. "Okay Nimbus, head north, as fast as you can." The flying nimbus took off to the north as fast as it could, leaving the arena behind it.

Meanwhile Krillin's group had not been faring as well. With the failed Tiencha fusion, the group was worse off than it was before. 17 continued his fight with 13, not concerned with protecting Tiencha. 18 was in a losing battle against the muscular 14, and the short 15 was harassing Krillin as he tried to protect the decrepit Tiencha.

"Ha!" 17 yelled as his right fist connected with 13's face. 13 countered back with a right punch of his own to 17's face.

"Punk!" 13 yelled as he hit him.

"Hick!" 17 yelled back as he then hit him back again. 17 then managed to fire a shot into 13's chest. 13 was pushed backwards by it, but managed to roll off the blast and regain himself. He put his hands in front of himself and began to charge up a red ball of energy. It grew bigger than him and it looked like it was actually a ball of energy inside another ball of energy.

"S.S. Deadly Bomber!" 13 yelled as he fired the blast at 17. 17 quickly flew above the blast and it went past him.

"You missed!" 17 yelled back as he charged up a blast. 13 just smirked as he crossed his arms. "What's he so happy about?" 17 thought for a very brief moment. "Crap!" He turned around and saw the blast had also turned around and was now heading right back for him. 17 took off and the blast chased him around. 17 tried to zigzag through the air, but it followed his every move, and worse than that, it was gaining on him. "Damn it!" 17 cursed as he fired an energy blast at the blast chasing him. The two blasts collided, but 17's had no effect. The blast was almost caught up to 17. 'I'll at least take him down with me!' 17 thought to himself as he began to head for 13. 13 didn't look the slightest bit worried though.

"Poor boy. He'll never make it. Hey, what's that?" 13 said as he saw a figure high above 17.

"Burning Attack!" An orange ball of energy slammed into 13's blast from above. The two blasts were sent into the ground and created a massive explosion. 17 stopped flying as Future Trunks slowly floated down to his level. His back was turned to 17.

"It's you." 17 said surprised. "I thought you were gone."

"Don't think this means I like you. I can hardly believe I even did that just now."

"Well I didn't ask you to. So why don't you just butt out."

"Fine."

"Heeeeyyyyy!" Kid Trunks yelled. He was waving as he rushed over to Future Trunks. He got in font of him and stopped.

"Hey bro!" Future Trunks yelled back to him. "You're just in time." The androids and Saibamen all backed off as Gero gave a signal to them. Future Trunks, Kid Trunks, 17, and 18 all gathered around Krillin and Tiencha. "So Krillin, what's the plan?"

"Well." Krillin said with a grim look on his face. "The plan is to beat these guys."

"13 is mine." 17 said to the rest of them. "I don't care what the rest of you do, but just stay out of my way." Future Trunks scowled at him, but didn't say anything.

"That's fine."

"I'll take the big guy then." Future Trunks said as he looked over at 14.

"I guess that leaves me with the short one." Kid Trunks said as he pointed over 15. "What about you and 18?"

"We'll clear out these Saibamen and protect Tiencha. There aren't too many of them left, so it shouldn't take long. After that, we'll help the rest of you." The three androids had gathered around Dr. Gero. He seemed to be planning something as well.

"13, do you understand the plan that I have just downloaded into you." Dr. Gero asked him.

"Yes doctor." 13 replied back.

"Good, whatever happens, don't let them split you up. Triple team them one at a time and you can take the target out quick. Then move onto the next one. There won't be any more playing around this time." 15 took a flask out of his coat and took a swig from it.

"Relax doctor." 15 said to him. "We'll take care of it." 14 also gave a nod. The three androids turned around and were surprised to see Krillin's group was already charging them. 17 quickly uppercut 13 into the sky and leapt up after him. Both Trunks had transformed into Super Saiyans and attacked the androids they had claimed from earlier. 15 was knocked left, with Kid Trunks pursuing him while 14 was knocked right and Future Trunks pursued him. Krillin and 18 were directly behind them and charging at Gero and the three Saiabamen that surrounded him. Two of them leapt at 18 and Krillin, but were both beaten into the ground with one hit. The third charged at Krillin, but Krillin blasted it in the face and it fell to the ground.

"What's going on!" Dr. Gero yelled frantically. Suddenly 18 appeared behind him. She quickly powered up a blast in her hands. "No!" Gero yelled as he turned his head around just in time to be completely incinerated by the blast. Krillin smiled at 18.

"Nice work dear." Krillin said. 18 smiled back to him, but didn't say anything. The two of them both took off into the air after the remaining Saibamen.

Back at Bebidi's ship, Bebidi was watching the fight in the artic. His focus on it was interrupted as an annoyed Dr. Gero came through the door.

"Done already?" Bebidi asked him, only briefly letting his eyes leave the crystal ball.

"They destroyed my dummy." Dr. Gero said to him. "It took me quite awhile to build it too. Worst of all though, the dummy itself was the main energy jammer; as soon as they stop fighting, they'll be able to find Gohan."

"It'll be over before they get there." Bebidi said

In the artic, Gohan had just crawled out of the icy water onto a floating chunk of ice. He was staring up at Cooler and Cell. The look in his eyes told them that he had the intent to kill.

"This is beginning to give me a headache." Cooler said as he put his hand to his forehead. Cell, who only a brief moment ago was filled with fear, was now working himself into a rage.

"I am perfect!" Cell said to himself. "No, I'm beyond perfect. I'm super perfect. It is impossible for a super perfect being like me to lose. Impossible!" Cooler's eyes shifted over to catch a glance of Cell.

'He's lost it.'

"Gohan! You're finished!" Cell charged down at Gohan and began a melee with him. After a couple of blocked punches and kicks, Gohan punched Cell in the face. The punch sent him flying and Gohan chased after him. With Cell still flying through the air, Gohan got beneath him and kicked him in the gut. Gohan's foot went right through Cell. Gohan then immediately flew behind Cell and kicked him in the back of his neck, severing his head from his body in the process.

"I won't let you survive this time." Gohan blasted Cell's head and it vaporized completely. The rest of Cell's body hit the ground with a thud, reminding Gohan of it. "I know you can regenerate without your head, so I'll destroy the rest of you too." Gohan began to power up a blast, but saw Cooler charging quickly towards. Gohan fired the blast off at Cooler. Cooler's image faded and then appeared above the blast, continuing to charge at Gohan. Cooler reached Gohan and the two of them began a melee of their own. Cooler was faring better than Cell did, but still not making any real progress, for the most he could manage to do was trade blows. On the ground, Cell's head regenerated back.

'I've got to get out of here.' Cell slowly moved his right hand to his head and put two of his fingers to his forehead. "There he is." Cell used his Instant Transmission and appeared beside Frieza. He put his left hand on him and then used his Instant Transmission again to get back to Bebidi's ship.

Back on Bebidi's ship, Cell and Frieza appeared on the floor near Dr. Gero and Bebidi.

"Wonderful." Bebidi said sarcastically as he looked over at Cell and Frieza and then back to the crystal ball. "You just had to go and attack Gohan on your own; you couldn't wait for Cooler to figure something out, could you?" Bebidi didn't get a response. "Cooler's pretty clever you know, he would have come up with something if you hadn't rushed in." Bebidi still didn't get a reply back. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?" Bebidi finally glared over at Cell, only to find him fast asleep. "Oh, alright then." Bebidi then went back to watching the fight.

"Bebidi." Gero said, trying to get his attention. "Why don't you give Cooler a temporary boost like you did with Cell?"

"That's not an option any longer."

"Why not?"

"That's none of your concern! Besides, Cooler already knows that I can't do that anymore. It's all up to Cooler now."


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55: Gohan vs. Cooler, Fight's End**

Krillin, 18, 17, Future Trunks and Kid Trunks were all still battling against androids 13, 14, and 15. 17 continued his struggle against 13 while Future Trunks seemed to hold the edge over 14. Kid Trunks, while not being completely dominated by 15, could have been doing better.

"Come on kid, let's dance." 15 said as he punched Kid Trunks in the face.

"Urgh, shut up!" Kid Trunks threw a fierce punch at 15's face, but he dodged to the side and only his thumb scraped against the androids face. A cut formed on 15's cheek.

"Not bad kid." 15 said as he then kicked Trunks in the face, sending him beneath the tops of the trees below. Only seconds later though Trunks came barreling out from the trees. With his arms stretched out in front of him, he managed to ram right into 15's stomach. 15 gritted his teeth a little. Clutching his hands together, he then sent them slamming down into Trunks's back. As Trunks was being knocked down though, 18 sprang up from beneath 15, only a few feet in front of him. Her right arm was above her head and held a Destructo Disk.

"Yah!" She yelled as she threw the disk at the small android. The disk quickly spun towards 15 and made contact with his neck. It went completely through, causing 15's head to fall into his hands.

"That wasn't nice lady." 15 said before blowing up. Kid Trunks floated over to 18.

"Thanks 18." Kid Trunks said to her.

"Things should get a lot easier now." 18 said to him. Very close to them, Krillin was still fighting a Saibaman. The Saibaman leapt at Krillin, just to get punched in the face and knocked away.

"Kamehameha!" Krillin yelled as he fired the blast at the Saibaman. The blast made a complete hit and vaporized it. "There, that's the last one."

"Krillin!" 18 yelled as she and Kid Trunks flew over to him.

"What's up 18?"

"Android 15 is destroyed. Should we help out with the Saibamen?"

"No need. That was the last one."

"Hey." Kid Trunks said to both of them. "Do you guys feel that?" There were a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah! That's Gohan's energy! I'm positive of it this time!"

"Shouldn't we go find him then?"

"Hold on a second." Future Trunks was in a melee with 14 and was about to land a nice haymaker to his face, when a foot struck the android in the cheek and knocked it away. "Trunks."

"What's up?" Future Trunks asked him casually, as if he hadn't been fighting at all.

"We can sense Gohan's energy now." Future Trunks was silent as he searched for Gohan's energy.

"Hey, I can sense it too now." 18 and Kid Trunks floated up behind Krillin.

"15 has been destroyed and all the Saibamen have been wiped out. If we head for Gohan, will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine, you get to Gohan and I'll catch up then."

"Are you sure?" Kid Trunks asked anxiously.

"No sweat bro. I'll let you in on a little secret. I haven't even gone into my ultra form yet. When I do, I'll make short work of 14."

"Really?" Future Trunks gave a nod back to Kid Trunks.

"Okay then." Krillin said before they could continue their conversation. "We'll get going. Finish up here as soon as you can and then head for us." Krillin peaked around Future Trunks and noticed 14 hovering in the air several feet behind him. "Besides, I think he's getting impatient. Good luck Trunks!" Krillin said as he finally took off into the air.

"Later bro!" Kid Trunks yelled as he followed.

"Don't forget to help my brother when you're finished." 18 said as she then took off into the air. Future Trunks turned around to face 14.

"Sorry for making you wait." Future Trunks said to him. 14 didn't say anything back. "The quiet type huh? Well, why don't we just get right back to it then." Trunks's muscles bulged out as he entered the first ultra form of Super Saiyan.

Meanwhile, Gohan was continuing his fight with Cooler in the artic.

Gohan threw a punch at Cooler and nailed him in the face. Cooler responded right back by grabbing Gohan's shoulder and then punched him in the gut several times. Gohan. Gohan then caught Cooler's fist with his left hand and punched him in the gut with his right hand. Cooler responded back with a head butt. Their heads banged violently into each other and blood began to trickle down both of their foreheads. The blood flowed into Gohan's right eye and was blurring his vision from it. Gohan didn't falter though and kneed Cooler in the gut. Cooler was determined not to fall either.

"Rah!" Cooler yelled as he hit Gohan in the chin with a right uppercut. Gohan went flying up and back into the air. A few seconds later he hit the ground. Panting, Cooler walked over to him. He stood over Gohan and looked down at him. He was on his back and his eyes were closed. 'Did I win?' Cooler looked at him for a few seconds longer and noticed one of Gohan's fingers twitch. 'No!' Gohan's eyes shot open and he stuck his hands above himself.

"Masenko!" Gohan yelled as he fired the blast. Cooler barely had enough time to put his guard up as the blast hit him in the chest and knocked him into the air. Cooler was pushed a nice distance into the air before he finally rolled off of the blast. Cooler stared at Gohan on the ground. He was now on his feet and looking right back at Cooler.

"I need to finish this." Cooler muttered to himself. "Gohan! I'm sick of these games! Let's end this!" Cooler put his right hand in the air above his head. His pointer finger was stretched out while his others remained clenched in his palm. A small ball of energy began to form above the tip of his finger.

"I agree Cooler!" Gohan yelled back to him as he began to charge up a Kamehameha attack.

"This is it, my last chance." The ball of energy grew in size and swirled with the colors of orange, red, and yellow all throughout it.

"Kaaaaammmeeeeeee…" The ball of energy betweens Gohan's hand grew larger and brighter.

"My Supernova attack."

"…hhhhhaaaaaaaammmmeeeeeeee…"

"You ready Gohan!" Cooler threw his attack at Gohan.

"…hhhaaaaaaa!" Gohan shot his blast at Cooler.

'Gotta do this quick.' Cooler thought to himself as he put his fingers to his forehead and vanished. He appeared behind Gohan and barely touched his shoulder. The two of them vanished again. They reappeared in the center of the two blasts. Cooler quickly lifted his hand off of Gohan and vanished again.

"What the!" Gohan said in complete shock, his hands still out in the position of doing a Kamehameha blast. Cooler's blast hit Gohan's hands, just as Gohan's own Kamehameha hit him in the back. "Ahhhhhhhh!" Gohan screamed in pain as a massive explosion engulfed him. The blasts faded and Gohan fell to the ground. Cooler flew over to Gohan and landed near him. "Ungh." Gohan seemed to whimper out as he stumbled to his feet and began to limp away from Cooler. He was covered in blood and had no fight left in him.

"I can feel someone coming for you Gohan. Several of them." Cooler hopped in front of Gohan and shot a blast into his left eye.

"Aaaaaahhhh!" Gohan yelled as he put his hand over his eye.

"You're lucky to have so many people care about you." Cooler kicked Gohan in the side. "Very lucky." He then grabbed Gohan's right wrist and raised his arm into the air. He struck at Gohan's elbow and broke the joint."

"Yaaaaahhhhhh!" Gohan screamed in even more agony.

"The good news for you is that even one of them could massacre me in my current condition." Cooler struck Gohan's right knee with a kick and broke that joint as well. Gohan fell down onto his right side. Despite his injuries, he still tried to crawl away. "The bad news though, is that they won't make it in time." Cooler held out his right arm and a blade of energy began to flicker around it. "I knew one person that might have come close to being a friend." Gohan turned around to where the voice came from. He couldn't see out of his left eye, and his right eye was still covered in blood. "Gohan, you and your friends took that away from me." Cooler leapt at Gohan with the blade and brought it down on Gohan's left shoulder. Gohan could only yell out in pain as the blade slowly cut through the flesh. "Now I'll make your friends feel my pain." Cooler's blade made it all the way through and severed Gohan's left arm. The arm fell to the ground and the blade vanished. Gohan couldn't deal with the pain anymore. He couldn't decide it he wanted to cry or curse, but his burned eye couldn't shed tears and if his other did, nobody would have noticed them mixed with the blood.

"Monster!" Gohan hissed out.

"No, a monster would leave you as you are. To possibly live with all these injuries that will never heal. But I'm not a monster." Cooler's eyes glowed and he shot out two beams of energy. They quickly pierced Gohan's chest and vanished. Gohan fell onto his back. Cooler stood there, trying to think of something else to say to Gohan, but he couldn't. Then he felt Krillin's energy getting very close. "It was an honor to fight you." Cooler used his Instant Transmission just as Krillin, 18, and Kid Trunks arrived.

"Gohan!" Krillin yelled in a panic as he ran over to him. "Gohan!" Krillin grabbed Gohan's head and turned it to face him.

"Ah!" Trunks gasped in surprise as he briefly caught a glimpse of Gohan. 18's hand quickly covered his eyes.

"Don't look." 18 said to him. Krillin wiped the blood out of Gohan's eye. Gohan could barely make out Krillin's face. Blood started to flow into Gohan's eye again so Krillin put his hand in the way to block the flow.

"Oh, Gohan." Krillin sobbed out as tears formed in his eyes.

"Ba…" Gohan tried to mutter out.

"What is it Gohan?"

"Bardock, Raditz. They're here."

"Come on." 18 said to Trunks. "We'll find them." 18 and Trunks took off and began to search the area for any sign of Bardock or Raditz.

"Gohan, I'm so sorry!" Krillin sobbed as he held Gohan's head against his chest. "I wasn't fast enough." Gohan breathed slowly.

"Krillin…" Gohan breathed in deep. "…it doesn't hurt anymore." Gohan exhaled. Krillin waited, and waited, and waited, but Gohan never inhaled again.


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56: Clueless**

Krillin didn't let go of Gohan's head as his own tears began to fall on top of Gohan's head. As Krillin was doing this, a massive power level was heading towards him at an incredible speed. It wasn't long before there was a huge impact and the person was there. It was Goku, as a Super Saiyan 3. His body had readjusted and he had raced towards the area as fast as he could. He walked over to Gohan, though it felt like he was in some kind of dream.

"No." Goku muttered out as his walk turned into a dazed stumble. "No."

"No?" Krillin asked coldly. "Isn't this what you wanted Kakarot? For us all to die! Well go ahead and kill me too then! I can't stop you, I won't even try."

"Oh, Gohan." Goku faded out of his Super Saiyan form and tears flowed from his eyes. "I'm so sorry Gohan, this is all my fault." Krillin looked up at Goku and noticed that he was no longer Majinn.

"Goku! You're back?" Krillin said, momentarily happy among his grief. "Oh, I didn't mean those things I said! I…"

"No Krillin. This is my fault. If I had never been turned Majinn, then Gohan would be alive."

"Goku." Krillin didn't know what else to say to him. It wasn't much longer until 18 floated to the ground carrying Bardock.

"I found Bardock." 18 said to them.

"Dad, not you too." Goku said as he walked over to 18 and Bardock.

"He's hurt, but he isn't dead." Just then Kid Trunks came flying over, struggling to balance Raditz on his back as he did.

"Hey, can I get some help here?" Kid Trunks yelled at the others.

"Raditz." Raditz didn't respond.

"These are probably Mejinn injuries." 18 said to Goku. "I'll get them both to a hospital right away." Goku didn't say anything. 18 managed to sling one of each of their arms around her shoulders and flew over to Krillin. "I'll see you back at home." 18 softly said to him.

"Yeah." Was all that Krillin was able to say back. 18 flew into the air and was soon out of sight. The wind cut across them all and nothing else could be heard. Goku turned around and walked back over to Gohan's body. He kneeled beside him.

"I'm sorry son." Goku said as he scooped Gohan's body up in his arms. Goku slowly flew into the air and began to fly away. Krillin and Trunks just stood watching him for a moment.

"Where's he going?" Trunks finally asked Krillin.

"I think…" Krillin began, but paused to actually come up with an answer. "…to the lookout."

Meanwhile, up on the lookout, Dende had an unexpected visitor.

"I wonder who this is." Dende said to Mr. Popo as a hover car landed on the surface of the lookout.

"I'm not sure." Mr. Popo said back to him. The top of it opened. "It's Mr. Satan." Mr. Popo was then able to answer him. Hercule hopped out of the car and turned around to reach inside it.

"Mr. Satan, what brings you here?" Hercule turned around and Vegeta was in his arms. "It's Vegeta!"

"Yeah." Hercule said back to Dende. He then reached into the car and lifted Piccolo out of it. "I figured that these two might need help and I remembered that you can heal people."

"Sure." Dende ran over to them and then stopped partway. "Wait, if they're Mejinn injuries I won't be able to do any good."

"Nah, Goku did this to them. But he's been brought back to his senses. Vegeta muttered several times that he was back on the way over here."

"That's great!" Dende said excitedly. He then raced over to them and began to heal them. He healed Piccolo first. Piccolo's eyes opened and he saw Dende right in front of him.

"Dende!" Piccolo said in surprise. Piccolo sat up and saw where he was. "How did I get here?"

"You can thank Mr. Satan for that." Dende said as he then went over to heal Vegeta.

"Aw shucks, it wasn't any big deal." Mr. Satan said to him.

"Still, thank you." Piccolo said to him. "So, did we win?" Hercule smiled and gave a thumbs up to Piccolo.

"Yep." Piccolo smiled back.

"Of course we won." Vegeta's voice barked out as he got to his feet. "I was fighting, that right there made losing impossible."

"So, how'd you pull it off? You were done for when I stepped in."

"Yeah." Hercule chimed in. "Tell us."

"Yeah Vegeta." Dende added. "How'd you do it?"

"Well..." Vegeta said in his old arrogant voice. "…I didn't win in the way I had originally planned, but I still managed to break the spell on Kakarot."

"Well…" Piccolo said back to him. "…however you did it. I'm glad you did."

"For a moment there I thought I'd have to step in and save the day." Hercule said sheepishly. "Not that I would have had any problems doing it." He then boasted. The others all laughed at his remarks, even Vegeta managed to chuckle. Vegeta then got a dire look on his face. "Um, hey, what's wrong? I was just kidding around you know. I know that it was all you guys." Hercule said defensively.

"It's, not that." Vegeta said grimly. "I just remembered something is all."

"What?" Piccolo said with a serious tone.

"I promised Bulma that I'd take her out for a fancy dinner after this mess was over with. Ah, the only reason I did that was so that there would be a bright side if I actually did lose." The others all laughed at Vegeta momentarily. After that they were able to make out a shape off in the distance.

"Someone's coming this way."

"I bet it's Kakarot." Vegeta began to get a sadistic grin. "There's no way I'm going to let him live this down. He lost to me in an even fight. He only managed to last longer because he stole the Senzu Bean." They all waited as Goku got closer.

"Hmm, it looks like there are two others behind the first and it looks like the first person is carrying something big."

"Hmph, he's trying to show off by taking his time. Well let him, I'll still get to have my fun." Vegeta turned his back to Goku as he was coming in. As Goku got closer, they all saw what it was that Goku was holding.

"Goku, is that…" Piccolo's voice trailed off.

"Kakarot, let this be a lesson to you."

"Vegeta." Piccolo said sternly.

"No, I've earned this."

"Turn around Vegeta!"

"What!" Vegeta yelled at Piccolo as he turned around and saw what it was that had the others so shocked. Vegeta got a grave look on his face and didn't say anything else. Krillin and Kid Trunks landed behind Goku.

"Gohan is dead." Goku said to them flatly. "And it's my fault." There was an unusually long silence between them all. "You guys should go home."

"Wait Goku." Krillin raced to his side to stop him as he saw Goku putting his fingers to his forehead. "Where are you going?" Goku teleported away without giving an answer. None of them had anything to say to each other for a little while. Eventually, Krillin spoke what the others were thinking. "Let's go home." Krillin flew off at top speed. Vegeta and Trunks then flew off together as well. Mr. Popo walked up beside Piccolo.

"Aren't you going with them?" Mr. Popo asked him.

"No." Piccolo replied back plainly. "Can I have a moment alone with Gohan."

"Of course." Mr. Popo and Dende went inside the lookout to give Piccolo some time.

"Gohan." Piccolo sat down beside him. "I know you did your best and gave them hell. I'm proud of you for that. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to help you, but I was busy elsewhere. I know you'd understand. I also want you to know that I'll do everything I can to avenge you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be the person I am today." Piccolo stood back up and cracked a smile. "We'll see each other again kid." Piccolo turned his back to Gohan and walked away.

In North city, Goku entered a crowded hospital. It was the third one he had been in so far.

"Excuse me." Goku said as he tugged on a nurse's sleeve.

"Hey!" The nurse said in surprise. "Didn't you just come in here?" Goku smiled faintly.

"That must have been my father. My brother would have been with him."

"Oh! You must be Goku then. The woman that brought those two in said that you might show up."

"Can I see them?"

"Of course." The nurse led him to a room in which Raditz and Bardock were both in. They were both in hospital beds, covered up by sheets. Goku spotted some boxes on the floor which contained their damaged Saiyan armor. Bardock's red bandanna was not among the things though. It was still on his head. The nurse noticed Goku eyeing the stuff. " It's weird, we just couldn't get that bandanna off of him. Every time we tried he would grab our hand with a death grip." There was a very brief pause. "So you're related to these two?"

"Yes, this is my father, Bardock." Goku said as he motioned towards Bardock. "And this is my brother Raditz. Will they be alright?"

"Ha!" A voice laughed out.

"Raditz!" Goku turned around to face his brother.

"We are saiyans, we don't injure so easily."

"He says that." The nurse butted in. "But unless he stays quiet and rests he'll never get better. He has some big injuries, but should be able to make a recovery. As for your father, I'm afraid it's not as good. He seems to be in a coma. It's still too early to tell how severe it is so we're hoping for the best. I'm sorry, but I really must get back to work now."

"I understand, thank you." Goku said to the nurse as she left. Goku walked over to Raditz. "How are you feeling?" Raditz cracked a weary smile.

"I feel great."

"Good."

"We both lost our tails, but we both managed to finally become Super Saiyans." Goku didn't respond so Raditz started to talk about what had happened. "Dad saw a vision of Gohan in trouble so we all raced off to look for him." Goku still didn't say anything. "As we looked for him dad said that he thought Gohan was going to die. Luckily, we managed to get there in time to help out. You should have seen it Kakarot. When I went Super Saiyan, I beat Turles! It was wild!" Raditz yawned.

"Yeah, I bet."

"I had been thinking about what you said before Kakarot. You probably don't remember saying it, but I do. You said I didn't act the way a big brother should. Ever since I died, that's bugged me."

"Oh." Goku said, just barely paying attention.

"Yeah." Raditz yawned again; he was starting to get tired. "I've been trying to be a brother you'll, be… proud… of." Raditz drifted off to sleep.

"You're a good brother Raditz." Goku got up and left the hospital.


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57: Mourning**

Vegeta, Krillin, and Kid Trunks stood just outside the son house, none of them wanting to go in and break the news of Gohan's death.

"How should we do this?" Krillin asked them both.

"You should tell them." Vegeta said back to him.

"Me! But why me?"

"Gohan was your friend; he didn't mean anything to me."

"What! How can you say that about Gohan?"

"He was a fighter who had power worthy of respect and my rival's son. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Dad." Kid Trunks said as he tugged on Vegeta's sleeve.

"What is it son?"

"I don't know where Goten is. We were together, but then he just seemed to vanish."

"If we sense his energy we'll go looking for him, otherwise, there's nothing we can do about that now." It was at this point that Future Trunks landed near them all.

"It's Trunks!" Krillin said excitedly.

"What a brilliant deduction. If you hadn't told us that none of us would have figured it out." Future Trunks gave a confused look to Vegeta and then looked back at Krillin.

"Trunks, did you finish off the androids?" There was a short pause.

"Answer the question boy."

"Yes." Future Trunks finally said.

"And 17 is okay too?" Krillin also asked. Future Trunks slowly nodded his head up and down. "Well that's one piece of good news among misery."

"Misery? Did something happen?"

"Gohan is dead."

"Dead?" Future Trunks stood there in shock. "No, Gohan can't be dead." Trunks began to shake his head in denial. "Where is he?" Nobody said anything. "Where is he!"

"The lookout." Trunks powered up and took off in the direction of the lookout. The front door of the house opened. Everyone quickly turned to see Bulma coming out of it.

"Hey guys!" Bulma said cheerily to them. Bulma was wearing a fancy purple ballroom style dress with long opera gloves.

"Bulma, why are you dressed like that?"

"You guys won, so Vegeta is taking me to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. Isn't that right Vegeta?"

"Sure." Was all Vegeta replied with as he stared at the ground.

"We just need to go pick up a tux for him first and then we'll be on our way." Vegeta walked over to Bulma and scooped her up in his good arm before quickly taking off into the air. Krillin and Kid Trunks both watched as they faded into the distance.

"So…" Krillin began. "…is Vegeta going to tell your mom about Gohan?"

"Don't know." Kid Trunks said back to him

"You can spend the night at my place, they'll figure out where you are later." Krillin took a deep breath and walked inside the house. He came out with everyone following behind him.

"So Goku's all better, right?" Chi-Chi asked Krillin anxiously.

"Yeah, Goku's just fine. I'm sure he'll be back here to see you in no time." Everyone except Trunks, Krillin, and Chi-Chi piled into the hover car. It took off and Krillin and Trunks took off beside it. Once they had been in the air for awhile, Trunks flew over next to Krillin.

"You didn't tell her…" Trunks prodded at Krillin. "…did you?"

"No."

"Man, you adults are so lame."

"Yeah, I know."

Meanwhile, Future Trunks had arrived on the lookout. The surface was barren now as Dende, Mr. Popo, and Piccolo had all gone inside. Gohan's body was still where it had been when Piccolo left it. Trunks landed beside it.

"Gohan, no." Trunks muttered out as tears began to well up in his eyes. He stood there silently for a minute before speaking again. The tears still hadn't fallen. "I'm sorry Gohan…" Trunks fell to his knees. "…but I just can't make any more tears than these." Trunks blinked and the two tears rolled down his face. "I saw you like this once before, your sacrifice pushed me over the edge. Now you're like you were then and it makes me angry Gohan." Trunks went Super Saiyan and he clenched his teeth together. "It makes me angry!" Trunks slammed his fists into the ground, causing the whole lookout to briefly shake.

"What was that?" Dende said from inside.

"You stay here, I'll check it out." Piccolo said back to him as he ran to the surface of the lookout.

"More than that though, it frustrates me. You died again, and again I was too weak to help you. It shouldn't be this way! It's not fair and it's not right!" Trunks clenched his fists. Piccolo had made his way to the surface by this point.

'It's Trunks.' Piccolo thought to himself and then quickly ducked out of sight.

"So why, why can't I get any stronger this time? Whhhyyyyyyyyy!" Trunks yelled into the air as his hair began to stand on end. Fierce gusts of air flew off in every direction from Trunks.

'He's going to ascend!'

"Yaaaaahhhhhh! Ah." Trunks yell peaked. His aura faded and his hair went back to its natural purple color.

'He almost had it.'

"I'm sorry Gohan. I can't make your sacrifice worth anything this time."

"That's enough Trunks." A voice said to him. Trunks lifted his head up and looked around, but didn't see anyone.

"Go-Gohan?"

"Yeah."

"But, how?"

"I'm in other world now, King Kai is letting me talk through him."

"But only for a little." King Kai butted in.

"Trunks, I don't want you and the others to be sad about me."

"But…"

"No! Listen carefully Trunks, King Kai said that I could only talk to one of you. I was going to talk to my dad, but then I felt your pain and decided that you might need it more." Gohan paused a little. "Any negative feelings you have can be used to help you, channel them towards your training and become even stronger. You're close Trunks. You're almost a Super Saiyan 2. Keep at it and you'll make it."

"Gohan." Trunks said as he tried to think of something to say back. Trunks stood up and wiped the tears from his face before looking up into the sky. The sun shone brightly on his face. "You're right Gohan and…" Trunks paused for a few seconds. "…I think that's exactly what the Gohan from my time would have said too. I'll get stronger Gohan and I'll make sure that Bebidi and his gang won't be able to harm anyone else!"

"Good, I have faith in you Trunks. I've got to go now, take care." Gohan took his hand off of King Kai's shoulder. King Kai turned around to face him.

"Feel better now Gohan?" King Kai asked him.

"Yeah, thanks King Kai. Though I'd feel even better if you'd let me talk to my dad too."

"Sorry Gohan, but there are still rules in place and since there is no longer an immediate threat I can't let you do that."

"I understand. So, what do I now?"

"Whatever you want; you're on the planet of the Grand Kai, with the best fighters to have ever existed in the universe. Enjoy yourself Gohan, you've earned it."


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58: Breaking the News**

Vegeta flew through the air with Bulma clinging to his neck.

"I'm so excited." Bulma said to him. "I can't believe that we're finally going to do this together."

"We're not going." Vegeta said flatly to her.

"What? But you promised Vegeta. We're going!"

"No, we're not."

"Oh yeah, well why not!" Bulma demanded from her husband.

"Because Gohan is dead. This is not a night to celebrate."

Back at Goku's house, night had fallen. Goku himself was standing just outside the front door. He had been for some time now and was finding himself unable to go inside.

'I wonder if Chi-Chi will ever be able to forgive me for this. I guess I should go inside now.' Goku didn't move though. 'I guess I should go inside now.' Still, Goku didn't move. 'I guess I should…' Goku's thoughts were interrupted though as Chi-Chi came out the front door.

"Goku!" Chi-Chi yelled at him angrily.

"Wa!"

"I have been waiting patiently for the past hour for you to come inside, but I won't wait any longer. Now get in!"

"You mean, you still want to live with me?"

"Of course I do. Just what kind of stupid question is that anyway?"

"Chi-Chi, I need to talk to you about the boys." Goku said to her as she led him inside their house by his hand.

"It's okay Goku, I've already figured it out."

"You have? But how?" Goku was clearly surprised. He just couldn't figure out how Chi-Chi knew that Gohan was dead and that Goten was missing.

"I know how things work dear. You're having the boys spend the night at Master Roshi's so we can have a romantic night alone." Goku's expression hardened and his voice became serious.

"That's not it."

"Huh, it isn't?"

"Chi-Chi, Goten is missing."

"Well I'm sure he'll turn up. You may not know it, but that boy was always running off and doing his own thing. He was hardly ever on time for dinner."

"He went missing during all of the fighting, none of us know where he is, but, that isn't the worst news."

"What do you mean?" Chi-Chi said as she still tried to hold a smile.

"Gohan is dead." Chi-Chi didn't move a muscle or say a word. "Chi-Chi?" Goku leaned in closer to her face. Chi-Chi's eyes were white. She had passed out on her feet. "Wah! Chi-Chi!" Goku grabbed her and put her to bed.

The next morning, far away from the son house, Goten was sleeping. He heard noises all around him and then sun shone in through a window onto his eyes. His eyes squinted and then opened. It was an unfamiliar place to him. The walls were made out of a sand colored stone and very smooth. There was a small dresser in the corner. A clay vase was on top of it. Next to it was a picture of a family. Goten didn't recognize any of them. He began to look at the vase, there were interesting pictures painted onto it. Goten felt mesmerized by it. He grabbed the vase and then hopped back down on the bed with it. He looked at it closely. There was a long green dragon that went the whole way around it. There was a boy with a tail that was on it several times. In one part he was standing on top of a cloud that looked to be moving. In another the boy had a stick or pole in his hand. In the next that same pole was much larger. Goten continued to look at the vase. He saw detailed pictures of a cat, a pig, a turtle, and even an ox near each other. A giant ape loomed over them. Goten lost himself in the paintings on the vase. He didn't even notice the door open.

"Oh. You're finally awake." A nice looking middle aged lady was standing there.

"Neat vase." Goten said as he looked over at her.

"Oh, do you like it?"

"Uh-huh." Goten said with a nod.

"It tells the tale of a brave young boy who goes on a journey. He faces many perils, but makes many allies as well. He never gives up and always manages to go forward."

"Cooooool." Goten said as he put the vase back. "So, where am I anyway?" The woman smiled at him and led him into the kitchen where a meal was prepared.

"You should eat." She said to him as she motioned him into a chair.

"Okay." Goten hopped into the chair and began to pile food onto his plate.

"You're in a small trading and farming village in the desert. My husband's caravan found you on his way back home and brought you here. He said that you were passed out in the dessert." Goten stopped eating momentarily as he remembered what had happened.

"Cooler."

"Cooler? No, you didn't have one of those with you."

"Oh, umm, just never mind." Goten quickly finished eating and hopped out of the chair. He bowed to the lady. "Thank you for the food and for taking care of me." Goten began walking towards the door.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Home, my mom is probably worried about me."

"Do you live near here?"

"No, I live near some mountains and trees. There's a river near there too." Goten said to her as if he just gave very specific details.

"Wait child! You should not wander the desert without being prepared. I can tell just from looking at you that you have a strong spirit, but do not leave just yet. Let me give you some things." The woman left the room and came back with what Goten thought was a towel. She kneeled down beside him and began to wrap a turban around his head.

"Why are you putting a towel around my head? You're not one of those weird people that think aliens will get you otherwise, are you?" The woman laughed at Goten's comment.

"No child, this is a turban. It will keep your head cool from the dessert sun during the day and warm from its cold airs at night." She finished wrapping it, though it was a bit large and part of the end of it fell onto his shoulder. The woman then went over and opened up a cabinet. She took a canteen from it and quickly filled it up with water from the sink. "You'll need water as well."

"I thought desserts didn't have water."

"They do, but it is very valuable and must be conserved." The woman walked outside with Goten. "Before leaving, you should give thanks to our hero, Nam." The woman stopped Goten in front of a statue of the man. "The village was once on the brink of destruction, but this man returned with ample water and saved it. Since then, the village has prospered. It is said to be good luck to give thanks to Nam before heading out on any journey." Goten turned to the statue and bowed.

"Thank you Nam." As Goten finished bowing, a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Hold it." The voice said with a thick accent. Goten turned around and looked at the man. "You look just like someone I once fought."

"Fought?" Goten said confused. He looked at the person and then back at the statue. "Hey! That's you!"

"Yes, I am Nam. The people put this statue up even though I'm not the one they should be thanking."

"Really?"

"Yes. Tell me child, would you happen to be the son of a man named Goku?"

"He's my dad, but how do you know him?"

"I knew it. You look just like he did as a child you know."

"That's what everyone tells me."

"I fought against your father in the world martial arts tournament many years ago. I'm afraid I was no match for him though. So son of Goku, what is your name?"

"Goten."

"Tell me Goten, why were you in the dessert like that."

"I got beat up." Goten said ashamed of himself.

"Do not be ashamed. It is merely a trial for you to overcome and I know you can do it."

"Really?" Goten said hopefully as he looked up at Nam. Nam nodded back to him. "Okay then!" Goten clenched his fist and smiled. "I need to get back home and train! I've got a lot of catching up to do." Nam smiled at Goten as he quickly powered up and flew off into the sky at an incredible speed.

Back at Goku's house, the sun was shining. Goku was outside and Chi-Chi stood in the doorway.

"Don't worry Chi-Chi." Goku said to her. "I'll find Goten and bring him back alive and in good shape."

"I'm counting on you Goku." Chi-Chi said to him. Goku was now back to wearing his old orange outfit and Chi-Chi thought he looked rather heroic with the way the sun was shining and how the wind was blowing his hair around. Goku bent his knees as he prepared to leap into the air.

"I will find Goten, no matter how long it takes!" Just then Goten landed a few feet in front of Goku.

"Hi dad." Goten said to him. Goku fell onto his back in surprise.

"Well that was fast."

"Goten!" Chi-Chi yelled happily as she rushed over to hug her boy. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Yeah, I'm all right." Goten said to her. Goten looked around and noticed that Gohan wasn't around. "Where's my brother?"

"Oh sweetie…" Chi-Chi's eyes began to fill with tears. "…you're brother died." Goten's eyes narrowed.

"Okay." Goten worked his way out of his mother's grip.

"Okay?" Chi-Chi was confused by Goten's reactions. She expected sadness, tears, even anger, but not this.

"Dad."

"Yes son?" Goku said to him, also a bit confused by Goten's reaction.

"Will you train me? With Gohan gone, I'm going to need to get stronger."

"Well, sure I'll train you."

"Don't you miss your brother at all?" Chi-Chi asked him, still confused by Goten's reaction.

"Of course I do mom." Goten said to her. "But I need to get strong so that he can come back and not have to worry about anything. So, is it okay if I devote myself fully to training with dad?"

"Yes dear." Chi-Chi said as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. "Just make sure you listen to your father."

"I will." Goten quickly ran over to his dad. "Come on dad, let's get started."

"Right." Goku said with a nod as the two of them flew off a short distance from the house. They landed in a thinner part of the forest where a stream was flowing by them. "Goten, I'll warn you right now, this won't be easy."

"I know."

"No, you don't. The only way for you to get strong enough for it to matter is if I don't hold back on you. Training with me will be hard and it will be painful, but you'll get a lot stronger too. Can you handle it?"

"Yes."

"Good, then let's get started."

"Hold on dad."

"Huh?"

"I need to know something. Who killed Gohan?"

"Krillin said that it looked like Cooler was the one."

"Cooler, but, that doesn't make sense."

"What do you mean Goten?"

"Never mind dad." 'Still though, why would Cooler kill Gohan but let me live?'


End file.
